Memories
by Banshee01
Summary: He had a toothy grin that split his face in a cat-that-ate-the-canary kind of smile. But the most remarkable thing about him was the pair of large pointed ears that graced either side of his face. "Holey crap." I whipered, "Its peter Pan!" JinXOC
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Please support the official release.

Summery:

I looked up into a pair of sparkling blue eyes. I had never seen eyes so blue, it was like the summer sky had taken up residence around his pupils. A shock of hair the vibrant red of Marciano cherries fell in a wild main around his young face. He had a toothy grin that split his face in a cat-that-ate-the-canary kind of smile. But the most remarkable thing about him and what I admit I stared at the most was the pair of large pointed ears that graced either side of his face.

"Holey crap." I whispered. "Its Peter pan!"

Memories

Chapter 1:

Wake-y, wake-y! Eggs and bake-y!

"Ah...They drugged ya good, they did."

The voice came from so far away. It was hard to understand. I don't know if it was me who opened my eyes or him.

"Hello!"

A face swam into view, it was spinning round and round. I could hardly make since of it. Bright hair, big eyes. Just when I was about to make out the smaller features they swam and I felt myself falling.

"No! Ha, ha! Ah...don't be closin' those smilin' eyes. Pooh, yer pupils are so dilated there aint nothin else in there."

Two large calloused hands pressed themselves on either side of my face. They were so warm, I started sinking down again into the blackness. I felt so safe and warm. I could sleep forever like this. Suddenly something blew in my face, making me startle. My eyes shot open to the spinning world again.

"They gave ya too much, the damn fools. If'n ya go back ta sleep, ya won't be wakin' up lass. Stay with ol' Jin now."

A needle waved in front of my eyes and I tried to follow it. The thing went too fast and my eyes rolled up into my skull. I felt a sting on my arm, but I didn't seem to care. Nothing seemed to bother me right now. I was dimly aware of him tapping my face again.

"Wake-y, wake-y lass. The sun's a shinin' and 'tis a beautiful day."

I started to shake so hard my teeth began to chatter. Two strong arms lifted me up and held me against a warm chest. Something wet fell onto my hand and it took me a moment to realize I was crying and I didn't know why. My head fell back and a hand quickly supported it.

"Shhh...'tis alright lass. You'll be awake in a wee bit. Ol' Jin's got ya now. Ah, ah. Don't be a-tryin ta get up. Give it a few minuets more luv." He laughed aloud, the next was said more to himself. "She's as feisty as her father, she is."

Just as he promised the fog began to clear in a few moments. My shivering stopped and I felt less woozy. The man (I think he said his name was Jin) rubbed my back in soothing circles. I blinked my eyes, forcing them to clear. I came to myself to the sound of him humming. It was a pretty little song that I had never heard before. I relaxed against him.

"See? What did I tell ya? Right as rain ya are now."

I looked up into a pair of sparkling blue eyes. I had never seen eyes so blue, it was like the summer sky had taken up residence around his pupils. A shock of hair the vibrant red of Marciano cherries fell in a wild main around his young face. He had a toothy grin that split his face in a cat-that-ate-the-canary kind of smile. But the most remarkable thing about him and what I admit I stared at the most was the pair of large pointed ears that graced either side of his face.

"Holey crap." I whispered. "Its Peter pan!"

An eyebrow fell down while the other got lost in his hairline.

"Who?"

"Peter Pan." I insisted.

He laughed again and waved a hand. "I ain't no Peter, and I am certainly no Pan. Jin's the name and winds me game! At yer service my fair maiden."

I don't know why but I laughed. I laughed so hard tears came streaming down my face. Moments later the ground came up to meet me, but I don't remember hitting it.

* * *

I awoke with a start. The red haired man was leaning over me holding a needle in my arm and pumping something slowly into my veins. He noticed me wake and his grip tightened.

"Don't move luv. Yer metabolizing the antidote as fast as I'm pumping it in. Yer body is a little strange but Ol' Jin got the mix right this time." He took out the needle and shoved another into its place. I only winced a little bit, I promise.

"Whats happening to me?" I asked.

"When the rebels took ya, they gave ya a sedative. Damn idiots gave ya enough tranquilizer ta kill a dragon. I caught up to em when they stopped to find out why ya were having such a hard time breathing. I took ya away, pumped ya full of the antidote, and here we are."

"I-I don't remember." I wailed.

Jin took out the needle and tossed it away. He reached into a pouch on his waist and took out a band-aid to place over my shot. "Don't worry about it. That's one of the side effects of the drug. Yer memory should come back in a couple of days."

"Where am I?" I asked.

Jin helped me sit up before answering. "A place that's very far from home, and very dangerous for someone such as yourself."

"For me?" I asked, swaying slightly.

Jin nodded and guided one of my arms over his neck with one hand and slipped the other around my waist. He had to stoop a little because I was quite a few inches shorter then him, but he had me on my feet. "Aye. Yer father is worried sick about ya, lass. He hired me ta get ya back home."

"Daddy?" I whispered.

My father's serious face flashed before my eyes. Intense brown eyes that sat above a proud nose and almost womanish full lips. His once black hair had started to go gray at the temples. He was very tall and I had always been a little miffed that I hadn't inherited that trait from him. Would I ever see him again?

"How are ya feelin? Not sick ta yer stomach are ya?" Jin asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

I shook my head. "Uh-uh."

"Good. Let me know if that changes."

We continued walking in silence for a few moments. I must have been more out of it than I realized because I was just now realizing that we were walking through a dense jungle. Leaves littered the ground and cushioned each foot fall. It almost felt like walking on a mattress. But I could feel thick sticks and rocks burred under the leaves. Jin had to compensate my weight on more than one occasion as I tripped over the hidden objects. The act of simply moving one foot in front of the other was slowly getting easier the more I did it. Once I had it down pat, I let my eyes wander over the strange creature that was Jin. I was 5'2" and by the way he was hunched, he had to be at least 5'9". If stooping was hurting him, he didn't seem show it. My eyes jumped to his chest which was bare save for two thick strips of loose cloth that crossed it in a giant 'X'. The ends of the X were tucked into a light blue belt that had a large circular red gem as decoration. His baggy pants were white and flowed down his legs to about mid calf where they were bound in place by off-white bandages. Black peeked out from under the tops of the bandages and wound around the top of his foot before disappearing between his toes. It took me a moment to realize that the black cloth only covered the arches of his foot and left the rest bare.

"Doesn't that hurt?" I said.

"Hm?" He asked.

"You aren't wearing any shoes."

He surprised me by laughing. "Does it hurt, she says? Why no, lass." He took a moment to lift a foot and wiggle his toes. "No proper shinobi ever wears shoes. Ever try to climb something slick with shoes on? You'd never get out, they get in the way of gripping things."

"What's a shin-shinobu?" I asked stumbling over the word.

He laughed so hard that he bent at the waist, dipping us both down a little farther. "S-s-shinobu! Shinobu she says! Lass, I'm a shinobi. Sh-no-bee. I think your people call us Ninja's. 'Cept Ninja is a human term."

"My dad sent a Ninja to get me?" I asked in disbelief. I found it hard to believe that my dad, a mild mannered accountant, knew where to hire a Ninja, let alone find one.

Jin fixed me with a bright eye that sparkled with mirth. "Not a ninja, shinobi." He reached up and gently flicked his ear. It waggled up and down from the motion. "Ain't no human around that's got ears like mine."

My walking skipped a beat and Jin half dragged me a step until I got my feet under me again. He was right, his ears were almost as long as two of my hands placed end to end.

"What are you?" I asked.

This time Jin didn't laugh. He shot up an eyebrow in confusion. "What was the last thing you remember?"

I closed my eyes. The last thing I remembered was sitting in class taking a history test. I told Jin as much.

"That was three days ago. That drug messed with your head more than I thought." He said.

"How did you know that? This is the first time I've ever seen you." I said.

Jin shrugged his shoulder. "When the rebels started actin' up yer dad thought it was best to get someone ta keep an eye on ya a little closer than normal. Good thing too, if I hadn't found ya those idiots would a killed ya."

"Wait...how does my dad know...what ever it is you are?" I asked.

Jin pouted slightly, sticking out his lip. "Well isn't that a fine how-do-ya-do. "It". I am not an IT. I'm a demon. Say it with me now 'demon'."

"DEMON?" I squeaked. Fear I that I didn't know the source of ate at my heart.

I jerked away from Jin and stumbled onto my butt in the leaves. A blue scaled face with glowing orange eyes popped up in front of my vision. I scrambled away as the thing leaned down and said _Look boys, you'd think she's never seen a demon before!_I threw my arms in front of my face in a block as it reached out a hand to grab me.

"D-Don't touch me! Oh GAWD! PLEASE DON'T TOUCH ME!" I screamed in fear.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy lass." Jin said and backed up. "I won't touch ya."

I lowered my arms, breath coming in gasps. Where had the blue lizard-like man gone?

"I-Is he gone?" I asked.

"Y...Yea, he's gone. Your voice scared him away." Jin said uneasy. "What did he look like."

"He was a...blue lizard." I whispered.

Jin's eyes went hard for a second before growing soft. "Ya don't need to be worrying about him any more lass. C'mon."

Jin helped me to my feet and we continued to walk. He opened his mouth as if to ask another question, but instead closed it with a snap. We walked on in silence, the only sound was our feet rushing through the leaves. We walked on until the light started to fade. Suddenly Jin stopped and stretched his arms above his head.

"Alright lass, this is where we stop for the night." Jin said.

I looked around. "Where are we?"

Jin smiled and threw his hands above his head. "I have no idea!"

When my mouth dropped open he laughed.

"Aw...I was only teasing. Truth is I can't say exactly where we are. But were not far from your father's territory. Its another day's march that-a-way to the town of Byztian. We'll be meeting a friend of mine there before I take ya home. Now come here, We don't want to be on the ground when the sun sets."

I stepped over to him and he wrapped his arms around me. It was then I noticed that the same bandages that were on his legs were also on his arms. The same black cloth poked out at his elbows and wrists, while the same red jewels from his waist decorated his elbows.

"Alley-oop!" Jen called.

I gasped and threw my arms around his neck when we levitated off the ground and shot high up into the trees. Jin landed us on a sturdy branch and guided me to sit between his legs. He had his back pressed up to the trunk of the tree. He reached up into the branches and pulled down a back pack.

"Hold that please." He said.

I did as instructed as he reached up again and pulled down a large folded blanket. With a shake of his powerful arms he had unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around the two of us. He then took the pack from me and dug through it. I twisted around and watched as he pulled out a large white cloth and looped it once around his back then passed it round my waist.

"We'll be sleeping up here and I'd hate ta have ya fall to yer death 'cuz I rolled over in me sleep." He said.

After checking the cloth that bound us together and giving it a few good tugs, he fished around in the bag again until he found some food and a canteen of what I assumed to be water.

"Aw, Touya I knew there was a reason I liked ya!" Jin laughed and passed me something wrapped up in a leaf. "He always packs me favorite snacks. Go on, eat!"

I unwrapped the leaf and gasped. I had never seen anything like it. The food was bright blue. I sniffed it and could make out the unmistakable smell of garlic, onion and something else. But whatever that 'else' was, it smelled wonderful. I stuck out my tongue and gave it a quick lick. The flavor was hard to describe, but man was it tasty! I reared back and was about to take a bite when Jin placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Forgot ta tell ya to go slow. Its a special shinobi treat ya got there, its designed ta keep ya goin' for a long time. That will fill ya up very quickly."

I took his advice and nibbled off a corner. One and a half bites later and I was stuffed. Jin took It back from me and gave me the canteen. I took it from him and drank deeply. It was some of the best tasting water I had ever had. Jin stretched his arms above his head as the last rays of sunlight slipped over a horizon as red as fresh spilled blood. A yawn forced his mouth wide and I was able to see inhumanly sharp eye teeth glint in the dimming light. He placed his hands on my shoulders and guided me back against his chest. We wiggled around until we got as comfortable as we were going to get. I ended up with my head resting at the junction where his neck met his shoulder. He had his arms tucked up and over my waist, fingers laced on top of my belly. He gave a quick squeeze.

"'Night Luv." He said.

"Carrie." I said.

Jin cracked open an eye. "Carrie?"

"My name is Carrie."

Jin closed his eye and nodded.

"Night Carrie."

Jin closed his eyes and was asleep moments later. I stayed awake studying the hands that were laced across my stomach. I reached out and stroked his thumb. The skin was rough and the pad of his thumb heavily calloused. He had working hands. I marveled at how big they were. Mine could have easily gotten lost in his. My fingers ran up the ball joint of his thumb towards his wrist. His hands twitched when I touch the inside of his wrist. I stopped at the black bandage and gently ran my fingers around it. Jin reached up and grabbed my hand in his, but didn't seem to wake. I settled back against his chest and let the soft sound of his snoring lull me to sleep.

"Night Jin." I whispered.

* * *

This idea has been playing around in my head for a long time! Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it XD


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two:

We're following the leader

A bright red ball bounded towards me. Then people were screaming. Hundreds were streaming out to us, abuzz with excitement. Pain, I was in pain. People with skin all colors of the rainbow were above me. I was pushed, pulled, hurt. I saw red, red blood. My blood. I was screaming. Somebody was holding me down.

"Carrie? Hey, Carrie luv. Yer dreamin'!"

I woke with a start still feeling the phantom arms that held me. I struggled against the arms. They were going to do something to me! Something I didn't want. The rest of the dream faded in a wash of terror as I struggled against the phantom limbs. The arms tightened and I couldn't move.

"Don't hurt me, please." I was begging over and over.

"Carrie, no one is gonna hurt ya." A soothing voice said. "'Tis alright. Yer with Jin now, ain't no one gonna hurt ya s'long as I'm here."

My breath was coming in harsh gasps and my heart was beating like I had just run the three minuet mile. I looked up into a pair of bright blue eyes and a shock of red hair. He was smiling at me, but there was something in his eyes that I couldn't read. Was it pity?

I looked away from him, suddenly embarrassed that I had freaked out. The terror was fading in a wash of forgetfulness. I suddenly couldn't remember what I had been dreaming about, only that I had been scared. I leaned forward and braced myself on my arms. I breathed in through my nose taking in the rank odor of my sweat. I was drenched from head to foot. It made the dark blue school issued gym cloths I wore cling uncomfortably to my body.

"What were ya dreamin' about?" Jin asked.

I shook my head. "I...I don't remember."

He shrugged it off with a smile and stood. The cloth that he had tied around us last night hoisted me up with him. I managed to get my feet under me just in time for him to dump the blanket over my head. I struggled with it and stumbled my way backwards as Jin pulled the cloth that bound me. He was humming loudly and I could hear cloth whispering through his fingers. By the time I managed to find my way out of the blanket he had me tied to the tree by my waist.

"What in the..."What ever I was going to say died on my lips. The sight before my eyes almost caused them to bug out of my head.

Even though he had flown to get us up in the tree, I had never actually seen him float. He sat with his legs crossed arms wrapped around his torso. Breath fogged out of his mouth as he breathed.

"Its colder out here than an ice maiden's tit!" Jin cursed. "I'm gonna have a look around, you stay wrapped in the blanket an' don come out till I get ya."

He didn't wait for me to reply. With a complicated somersault he dropped out of sight, only to soar straight up moments later. He was gone and I was alone with one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. The sun was just rising painting the early morning sky in reds, blues, greens, and yellows. It had snowed the night before, covering the whole forest in a blanket of sparkling white. It was breathtaking.

I must have fallen back asleep because the next thing I knew Jin was shaking me on the shoulder. I opened my eyes and hid a yawn behind my hand. Jin reached behind me and I felt the cloth around my waist fall away. He pulled back twisting it up around one hand. When he reached the end, he pulled down the bag from last night and shoved it inside.

"Ah, breakfast time!" Jin sighed. "Too bad we couldn't have somethin' hot."

"Did you see all the snow?" I asked.

Jin nodded. "Aye, pretty sight too. If'n ya like that sort a thing, I suppose."

I stood up to catch another glimpse of it, but to my surprise it was all gone. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, the snow was gone and it must have been almost night again because the sun was setting, shading the sky a bloody red color.

"I can't believe the sun is setting already, and what happened to the snow? I thought you said you weren't going to be gone that long." I said.

Jin looked up. "Wha? Oh. OH! The sky only turns red at sunset where you come from. Welcome to the demon world, lass. Red sky as far as the eye can see. Climate here can change on a whim, especially if there is an elemental demon 'round. I've been gone 'bout an hour."

I cocked an eyebrow at him surprised that he had answered my questions in the exact order that I had asked them. He was happily humming to himself again and pulling out the leaf wrapped food from last night.

"Here ya go, lass. Eat up. We got a lot of walking ta do." Jin said.

I took the food from him and watched as he broke off a piece and shoved it into his mouth. I looked away when he chewed with his mouth open. Yuck. I took a bite and enjoyed the way the flavors played on my tongue. The food itself was chewy, and a little sticky. But oh, so, good. Like last night, a little of it went a long way. I handed it back to Jin what felt like moments after he handed it to me. He however, was still munching away.

"So, uh...What's it like to fly?" I asked unable to bare the silence.

Jin closed his eyes and swallowed. "Taint nothin like it!" He emphasized his sentence with a slap to his knee. "When your up in the sky, ya feel as free as a bird. Ya can do anythin ya want. Voom! And Weeee! and all sorts of fun." Jin used a free hand to mimic zooming about in the air. He brought the food up to his mouth and I lost what ever he said next. I think he said something about it being the time of your life. Instead I focused on how much of that stuff he had already eaten. Half of it was gone. I had no idea how he could stand it, especially when two bites almost made me full to the point of exploding. Jin noticed me staring and laughed.

"Yer eyes are lookin' at me and sayin' _now Jin, how in the world can somebody like yourself honestly eat all that food?_ Well, I'll tell ya. Flyin' takes a lot out of a man. Gotta refuel so we can get on the way." Jin said. He took one last big bite and put the rest away. "Phew...now that feels good. Nothin' like a full stomach." He patted it and grinned from ear to ear.

He looked so silly that I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Now that is right pretty. You should smile more often, Carrie." Jin said.

My smile turned a little goofy and a blush rose to my cheeks. A boy throwing a compliment my way, unheard of! Jin saw my blush and his lips twitched up. If he could smile any wider I swear his face would crack. He threw the blanket into the bag and then tossed the bag over his shoulder.

Jin held a hand out to me. "Ready, lass?"

I nodded and took his hand. A powerful arm wrapped around my waist and we were off. I think I may have left my stomach somewhere up in that tree though.

I had never felt out of shape until I went walking with Jin. Now, I walk dogs for a living. Okay, it wasn't a living. Its more of an after school job (my dad would literally kill me if I had chosen that as my lifelong profession.) Anyway, long story short is that as a dog walker I do four hours of non stop walking almost every day after school. On top of that I usually get up to eight hours a day, not counting lunch and breaks, (not that I take those) on Saturdays and Sundays. I usually get to do longer in the summer. I've been doing that job for three years now. The good thing about it is that job has given me killer thighs and shapely calves. Unfortunately, it has also given me hip problems. Dad made me cut back on my hours and see a doctor because of it. I got signed up for physical therapy, but my sessions weren't supposed to start for another two weeks.

I can usually make it at least seven hours before the pain starts to kick in. But with this uneven ground, seven hours shortened to about five. It wasn't long before my left hip started to pop and an ache started in my groin (honest to god, all hip problems are felt in the groin. If you feel it on your hip its just a muscle cramp) and I started to limp.

"Why in the world didn't ya tell me ya were hurtin'?" Jin barked all of a sudden.

I jumped and winced when I accidentally placed too much weight on my left leg. He walked over to me hands on his hips and an uncharacteristic frown marring his lips. I backed away from him when he got closer.

"I didn't want to slow you down. I can keep up, honest." I said.

"Carrie." Jin said, the lit in his voice reminded me of my father scolding me. "I could walk you into the ground six ways to Sunday and not even brake a sweat. And that is if you weren't hurtin'. I shoulda known somethin was up when I heard yer bones poppin." He knelt down and placed a hand on my knee. His fingers were firm, but gentle as he felt the ligaments and muscle.

"Eww. You heard that?" I asked.

"Aye. But I never thought you'd walk yourself into the ground. When I heard ya change step and start draggin that leg, I knew ya was in trouble."

"I..OW!" I gasped when he pressed down on a muscle. He ignored my discomfort and followed the muscle up my thigh stopping short of my groin. I reached out and placed my hands on his shoulders. I'd have fallen otherwise.

"Shit! If ya keep walking you'll be lame."

I staggard away from him when he let go of my muscle. That had been one of the single most painful experiences of my life. My hip was really aching now and I couldn't put my weight down on my leg. I stumbled over to a tree and leaned against it.

"How long have ya been hurtin like that? That type of injury doesn't happen over night." Jin said and crossed his arms.

"A year or so." I said. When his face darkened I added. "But it never really bothered me until last month, and I'm gonna get physical therapy next week."

Jin closed his eyes and sat down in mid air. "Shit. Shit. Shit." He whispered. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. You have got ta get off that leg. There is a hot spring not far from here, we can soak it for a while and hopefully that will keep ya from getting too stiff."

"I can make it." I said.

Jin shot me a look that made me for the first time ever feel scared of him. "Did ya not hear what I said? If ya keep walkin on it, you'll go lame and then where will we be?" He sighed and covered his face with his hands and his voice grew softer. "Don't give me that look, Carrie. I ain't gonna bite ya. I'm just mad at myself cuz I forget how frail humans are."

Jin put his feet back on solid ground and walked over to me. As he approached he stripped off the bag and handed it to me. I took it and put it on without a word. He knelt down and held his arms out to the side slightly. "Hop on, lass. Yer gonna get ta feel what its like ta fly first hand."

I walked over to Jin and did my best not to limp. It was a little awkward trying to get onto his back, I hadn't ridden piggy-back in ages. Thankfully he had strong arm muscles and was able to help lift me onto his back. Once settled, Jin took off at a run. I held on tight doing my best to not get jostled around too much. We ran about fifty feet before Jin's muscles tensed and he jumped straight into the air. A powerful gust of wind threw our hair up around my face and I got to see the world through a web of red and black. We glided a ways but weren't able to ride the draft more than a few feet off the ground. We sank back down to the earth and Jin hit it at a run. He let out a cry of delight before jumping up once more and summoning a blast of air with five times as much force as the first one. It hit us like a physical blow. I gasped and buried my face in the back of his neck. The straps of the backpack dug into my flesh as the wind tried to tear it from my back. Jin rolled his body with the punch, letting it take him up and away from the ground. Before I knew it, we were high above the earth.

"Hey, Carrie luv. Look at that." Jin pointed off into the distance using his head.

"Yea. That's really great Jin." I said, but didn't lift my face away from his neck.

"Aw. Ya didn't even look." Jin pouted. "Don't tell me yer afraid of heights."

I stiffened slightly. I know it sounds silly, but I wasn't scared up in the tree. Jin had kept me pretty well tied down. Not to mention the branch we had been staying at had given the illusion of a ground. There was no such illusion here. "Okay, I won't then."

"Carrie. You'll miss it if ya don't look and then You'll regret it for the rest of your life." Jin said.

"I'll take your word on that." I said.

Suddenly he dropped my bad leg. I tightened my grip on his neck as his hand fished back to my side. He found it a moment later and started to tickle it. My gasp of fright turned into a laugh.

"Get your head out a' me hair and take a look. I won't stop til you do." Jin said.

I leaned away, but he tucked his other elbow in and prevented me from moving. His fingers ran up and down my side, seeming to find every weak spot I had. I was laughing so hard it was difficult to breath. I resisted as long as I could, but he was good. I lifted my head and almost couldn't choke out the words. "Okay! I'm looking. I'm looking."

True to his word, he stopped and tucked his arm back under my leg. I felt my stomach fall away when I saw how high we were up in the air. It made my earlier tree experience feel like standing on a chair. My toes did that funny tingle feeling as if they longed to feel the ground under them. I didn't like it. My palms broke out in a sweat and made my grip feel slick. I tightened my arms on reflex and put my head back down.

"I looked. It was nice." Fear pinched my voice slightly higher.

"See that blotch way in the distance." Jin asked.

I nodded against his neck.

"That is Byztian. Another two...better make that four day's march from there is your father's Terratory."

"My dad is an accountant. He doesn't have own a house here." I argued.

Jin bounced me up on his back. "Don't be arguin with the wind master. And did I saw own? Luv, your father kicked some major arse to rule this land. He is the king of Makai."

I blinked in confusion. My dad. A king? A DEMON king no less? I just couldn't picture it. I had never seen him be violent before in my life. A little hard on people, but never violent. He volunteered at the local wild life sanctuary for god sake.

"Dude, you've got the wrong girl." I said. "There is no way my dad could ever rule here."

His hand was back on my side without mercy. I laughed and wiggled and did everything I could think of to get away but I was trapped. I was too scared to let go of his neck to grab his hand and there was nowhere I could move.

"What did I tell ya about arguin with the wind master?" He asked.

I laughed so hard that I could hardly say "Please! You win!"

The hand retreated and I tried to catch my breath.

"The hot spring is that way. We'll let ya soak an hour and see if we can get moving after that." Jin said.

With that plan in mind he leaned forward and shot of in that direction. The wind singing in our ears the whole way there.

End chapter 2

See you next time.

Just wanted to give a shout out to all the people who reviewed my story. You know who you are. Thanks for reading, I'll have the next chapter some time soon.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, please support the official release.

Chapter 3:

Hot water

I could hear the water before we saw it. Jin guided us down through the trees.

"Hold on!" He shouted.

I held tighter as the wind whipped around us. I could feel the hot air from the springs try to push us back up into the sky. But updrafts were nothing to a wind master, Jin handled them like a pro and guided us to the ground. We landed with a bump that made him take a few steps to catch his balance. When he was steady he knelt down.

"Alright, rides over luv."

I gratefully got of his back. It had never felt so good to have my feet back on solid ground. While I contemplated the idea of kissing the dirt, Jin rolled his shoulders letting out a few vicious pops of his own.

"This way lass." He said.

I followed him, my limp making me slightly slower than this morning. We walked around a few pools. Jin skirted the ones that were obviously too hot. Others he dipped his hand in to test the water. He grinned at one of them and muttered something to himself about boiling me up like a lobster. It took a while, but he finally found one that met his approval.

"Stick your hand in there and let me know if its too hot." Jin said.

I knelt down and gingerly touched the water. It was hot, but after a moment I got used to it. It wasn't too bad, though I would have to get in slowly.

"Feels good to me." I said.

Jin waved his hands at me. "G'on then. Get in."

I stripped off my socks and shoes and dangled my feet into the pool. The water felt wonderful after all that walking.

Jin sighed. "Lass. Ya got ta get your hip in the water. Soaking your feet isn't gonna do ya much good."

I sat there for a moment. I had taken my shoes off to keep them dry, but I would be damned if I was gonna strip out of my cloths with him standing around. I slipped into the water with everything still on.

"What in the hell are ya doing, girl!" Jin sputtered.

The water wasn't too deep and it hit me at the collar bone.

"You said get in." I said.

"I didn't mean for ya ta get all your cloths wet!" Jin argued.

I gave him the look I thought he deserved. "There is no way I was gonna take my cloths off with you around."

"Aww for go...You don't have anything Ol' Jin ain't seen before. Get out of those cloths right now!"

When I didn't comply, he narrowed his eyes.

"Do not make me get in there and help ya with 'em." He threatened.

"You wouldn't dare!" I said in shock.

Jin's reply was to slip off the straps on his shirt and undo his belt. I gasped and covered my eyes with my hands.

"OKAY! You win. Don't take off anything else!"

Jin sighed. "I'm waitin."

I looked up and thankfully he still had his pants on.

"Turn around." I said.

Jin complied and muttered something to himself about women. Once his back was to me I lifted off my shirt and threw it up on a rock. It was followed later by my shorts. I thought about leaving on my underwear, but they were white and the water had turned them totally see through making them pointless. I sighed and took them off with a vow that I would only wear black from now on. I crossed my arms over my chest and sank low in the water.

"Okay, I'm done." I said.

To my horror I heard another splash. I looked up in time to see Jin shoot his head above the water and comb his wet hair out of his eyes. He reminded me of a drowned cat the way his hair stuck to his body. It was then I noticed the white horn sticking out right out the top of his head. It wasn't too big and it glowed like mother of pearl. Small spiral grooves flowed from the point to where it sat in his hair, making me think of a unicorn The water dripped out of his hair and it started to spring back up, though it was slightly less bouncy then before. The water hit him at mid chest, since he was taller than me.

"I thought you said you weren't coming in!" I squeaked hands flying to my eyes.

Jin made his way through the water towards me. I felt a blush rising up my cheeks.

"I said don make me help ya get yer cloths off. Look at this mess. Ya didn't even wring em out. How in the world do you expect them ta dry?" He said in a scolding tone.

He walked past me and reached up to my cloths. He sighed again and pulled my shirt off the rock. I admit that I peeked through my fingers and watch as he bunched up my shirt and wrung it between his hands. The motion made his muscles flex and do really interesting things. I blushed harder and tried to focus on something else like the water that dripped out of the shirt. After he wrung it twice he flicked it out and laid it on a different rock. The process was repeated with my shorts, when it came time for my undergarments I rushed up and took them myself. He grinned at me and watched as I did my best to get the water out and place them with the rest. I made sure that when and if I looked at him, I gave him good eye contact.

"How's yer leg feelin?" Jin asked.

It was still soar, but the water was working its heated magic. I was certainly in a lot less pain then before. "Better."

We let the silence stretch between us. It was a weighted, uncomfortable silence. I didn't know what to do so I turned my back on him and started to rub my bad leg. The ache intensified under my fingers, but I bore it quietly with the knowledge that once I worked out the kinks the pain would vanish. My unease melted away with the task. Using my hands always calmed me. I think that's why I loved to draw. The concentration needed to shape a line into a desired shape, or to capture a feeling. There was nothing else like it. I secretly viewed it as a drug. The way it transported me away to another time and place was almost criminal. I suddenly longed for my pencils and paper.

"Need any help?"

I looked up from my leg into a large pair of blue eyes. The need for my artist tools suddenly stuck me like a physical blow. My eyes darted from his face to the arms he had crossed over his chest and flowed to his hands. He had nice hands. Their shape and bone-structure were amassing. I suddenly realized that I was starring and I looked away quickly.

"No. No, I'm fine. Thank you." I said sheepishly.

If my staring bothered him he didn't show it.

"What were ya thinkin about just then?" Jin asked.

"I wanted to draw." I said.

"Yer an artist!" He sounded a little surprised.

"Mm-hmm, I like to draw people and animals mostly. Though, I have been trying to branch out and do some landscapes and still life. Dad got me a camera for my birthday and I've been taking photographs and working from them. It really helps me relax and get through class, though my teachers don't like it. Being out here kinda makes me miss having my sketchbook with me." I realized I was rambling and decided to end my monologue.

Jin cocked his head to the side. "What's a still life?"

I blinked at him. "What?"

Jin placed a hand under his chin and looked puzzled. "A still life. I don't think I've heard that term before."

I nodded. "A still life is when you take everyday objects like flowers, vases, and books, then arrange them into an interesting pattern. Once you have it how you like it, you draw or paint that scene either in a realistic or stylized manner."

"Is it hard ta do?" Jin asked.

"It can be. But once you learn how to see, it gets easier. Having good hand and eye coordination helps too."

Jin's eyebrows shot up into his hair. "What do ya mean See? Are humans born blind?"

His question was so funny I couldn't help but laugh. He looked sheepish for a moment, but the smile didn't stay away for long. He was just too darn pleasant to let a little embarrassment get him down for long.

"No, though our vision is very weak at birth. Let me see your hand and I'll explain how to see." I said.

Jin held his hand out to me palm up, large fingers splayed. I rested the back of his hand on my palm to support it. With the other hand I gently traced a square on the outside of his palm, ignoring the fingers and thumb.

"The human body, in my opinion, is one of the hardest things to draw. We have bones, veins, muscle, flesh, and blood all compressed into one multi-layored organism. When you think about it, trying to capture all of that detail in one drawing can become pretty daunting—not to mention difficult. If you just try to draw it out you'll find that your proportions are off and some places get more detailed than others. To get away from that, you have to 'see' differently. Take your palm, Jin. Just in your palm you have a tun of bones and ligaments. That doesn't even begin to count your fingers. So what I do is break your body up into shapes. Your palm here becomes a square. Each finger joint a rectangle, leaving you three in total. See? First knuckle, second, and finger tip." I traced a square around each digit in turn. "Look at your arm. Your shoulder is a rounded square, your bicep a cylinder, elbow a circle, forearm a cylinder, and wrist a circle. After you lay down those shapes you build the muscles on top of that. See how your shoulder muscle here kind of makes a heart shape? Then how your bicep dips in here and bulges there? You build it up, layer upon layer, until you have fleshed it out."

Jin studied his hands flipping them over from palm to the back, then back again. "I think I get it."

I smiled. "When we get out of here, I'll teach you—If you want."

Jin looked up from his hands. "I'd like that. But, speakin of getting out a here. We'd better get goin. It'll be dark soon."

"Kay!" I said happily and rescued my clothing from the rock. I was surprised to find that they were just about dry. "Wow, these dried fast."

"Its from the heat." Jin said above the splash of of water. Apparently he had chosen to get out of the pool while my back was turned. I was grateful for that.

"I'm coming out, don't look." I said.

"Aye, Luv." Jin hollered at me in a sing song voice.

I climbed out of the water and used my hands to scrape off as much of the water as I could. When I was as Dry as I was gonna get without a towel (which wasn't much to my discomfort) I got dressed. The bra was a pain in the but to try and get on. The thing was a sports bra, the kind that slipped over your head. It twisted and turned and got into a general mess. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about here. Guys...feel lucky for never having to deal with it. When It came time to put on my under panties I stopped. There was blood on the bottoms. It was very faint, the water having taken out most of it. But it still bothered me. It wasn't my time of the month, so how did it get there? I felt a little uneasy, but shrugged it off. There was nothing I could do about it now. I debated weather to leave them off or wash them. I finally dunked them into the water and scrubbed out the last of the blood. We were gonna be walking and I would dry. Once the blood was gone I put them on. (Another major pain in the butt).

"Carrie." Jin was standing right behind me.

I jumped to my feet surprised and turned to face him. I was about to scold him when I was hit with a blast of warm air. I dug my feet into the ground to keep from being blown ass-over-tea-kettle (as my grandma would say). My skin, hair, bra, and panties were dry in a few moments. I blinked in confusion as Jin laughed and pulled my shirt over my head. He was still laughing as I got my whits together.

"Meet Jin, the worlds largest blow dryer." I grumped and pulled on my gym shorts.

"At yer service!" Jin said with a large sweeping bow. His left arm came sweeping down from above his head with grate flourish, while his right was tucked behind his back at a 90 degree angle. The effect was very cool.

"Why, thank ya sir." I teased right back at him in his own accent and dipped into a very ladylike curtsy, pulling my loose shorts out to the side like a skirt.

Jin grinned like a nut and held out his arm. "Madam."

"Sir."

I took his arm, linking our elbows together, as he tossed the backpack over his other shoulder one handed.

"Were off to see the wizard!" I shouted.

Jin laughed. "Who?"

"The wonderful wizard of OZ! He really is a wiz of a wiz, if ever a wiz there was. Oh ever, if ever, a wiz there was, the wizard of Oz has one because; because, because, because, because, because! Because of the wonderful things he does!"

"Luv, where do ya come up with this stuff?" Jin asked during my pause.

"Were off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!" I finished.

Jin and I took off into the woods. It took a lot of effort out of me not to try and skip off like Dorthy. I hope Jin appreciated it, because I really felt like that long ago little girl who found herself in a wonderland.

End Chapter 3

Sorry that took me so long to get out. My fingers kept trying to take me farther into the story then my brain wanted to go. After much fighting with myself and a few re-wrights I finally got headed into the right direction.

Thanks for your reviews She dictator, I'm glad you like my story. I have been wanting to wright about Jin for a long time. He has such a sweet personality.

You want more, Aviarianna, You got it ;) we aim to please.

Tune in next time for more Jin induced fun.

TTFN


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Once upon a midnight dreary

Hands were clawing at me, pulling my hair. I was running as fast as my legs would take me, but I wasn't fast enough. Hands grabbed me, pulled me to the ground. The cold caress of scales and the musty smell of reptile clung all over me. The fact that I couldn't move scared me as much as the hissing laughter. It sounded like hundreds of snakes had been given the gift of laughter. But their voices were cruel, hurtful like broken glass. My cloths were stripped from my body. I couldn't move, fear paralyzed my body, I was sickened that I would freeze up like this. Suddenly my legs were pried apart...faces, so many faces swam above mine. The features were all the same, some sort of cross between human and Lizard. It was the colors that shifted from red, tan, gold, green and finally blue. Eyes with slit pupils bore into mine, laughing. My belly felt it was on fire.

I woke with a start, grabbing my stomach in pain. The dream shattered and faded in the face of that pain. My lower abdomen cramped up around itself and locked into place. "OW!" I moaned.

"Ya alright, luv?" Jin was awake and sitting up, pulling me with him.

I gasped at the motion and dry heaved, my whole gut locking up. Thankfully I didn't toss my cookies, but that was only because I didn't have anything in my stomach. Bile burned my throat, though, which was almost as bad.

"Carrie, what's wrong?" Concern tempered the wind master's voice into something hard and unnatural.

Suddenly the cramp let go and I all but sighed in relief. I took a few deep breaths before answering. "My tummy hurts. It woke me up."

Jin's hand went to my forehead, feeling my temperature. "Ya don have a fever. I could give ya somethin for the pain." He offered.

I shook my head no. "Its going away."

Jin pulled me back down. "Go back ta sleep, luv. Mornin's a long way off."

I curled up into his embrace as he started to hum. I listened to the song, enjoying the music. It was a pretty little ditty that looped into itself and weaved a complex pattern of major and minor chords. I think I surprised him after a few rounds when I came in and threw in my own version of a harmony. I let my sound dive and soar and over his. My notes teased his and coaxed out a completely different, yet at the same time, hauntingly familiar sound. I snuggled down onto Jin and relaxed into his warm body. I don't remember how long I kept humming, or when exactly I fell asleep. All I remember is that I did not dream.

…

My foot tickled, pulling me up from a deep sleep. I twitched my foot slightly and it stopped. I got sucked back down again. When I was almost back to sleep the tickle came back. I groaned and pulled my foot away from the sensation. It stopped and I sighed. When it came back a third time I cracked open my eye and watched Jin's hand stroke the bottom of my foot.

"Stop it!" I growled and slapped him.

Jin's laughter bubbled up from his chest and broke the early morning quiet. It was strange to hear it reverberating around in his chest.

"Well, aren't you a ray o' sunshine." Jin chirped.

"S'too early." I groaned and buried my head in his chest. "Go'way."

"Go away, she says! Now Luv, how do I do that when yer head is burried so far into me chest I'm afraid it'll come out the other side."

I raised a hand up and placed it over his mouth. "Shhh...Good boy." I whispered.

Jin talked under my hand, his words muffled to the point that I couldn't understand them. When I didn't move my hand he pursed his lips. Suddenly he was attacking my sides, tickling them with no mercy. My eyes flew open and I laughed. I grabbed his hands with my own, but he was too strong for me. One hand broke free and I barely had enough time to transfer my two handed grip to his left wrist.

"Tryin ta make it so I can't talk, eh. Well, I know how ta fix ya good." Jin scolded.

When it was obvious I was loosing the battle I scrambled away from him. "Alright I'm up, I'm up! Geez!" I turned away from him and crossed my arms. Suddenly Jin's upside-down face loomed before mine. He had the largest fake pout I had ever seen before on Man or Demon. I leaned back so I could take in the whole sight of him floating upside crisscross-applesauce, hands on his knees.

"Your not mad at Ol' Jin are ya?" He asked.

My face cracked into a smile. Damn it all if I could hold a frown when he looked as silly as he did then. When he saw my smile brake out, his own spread across his face.

"Alright, luv. We'll be to the village by mid mornin. There's no hot springs between here an' there so don't overdo it like ya did yesterday."

"Yes mom." I said.

Jin reached out and tapped my nose. "I'm bein serious, luv. Were gonna take it nice an' slow. Oh, that reminds me. I got a little somethin for ya in the pack." Jin reached down...er...up into the branches and rummaged around in the pack. He pulled out a mask plus a bundle of cloth and handed it to me. "Ya don have ta put the mask on till we get close ta the village, but I want ya ta wear the cloak now. The less others see a' ya the better."

"O-key-doh-key." I said.

The cloak was silvery-gray and flowed like satin. The texture was coarser though and stronger then it looked. I pulled it over my head and down. The body was shaped like a poncho, and, just like a poncho, it had two long slits on the side so the wearer could stick their hands out. It had a cowled hood that billowed about my neck and face, hiding it from random viewers. I pulled the hood back, exposing my head. I was surprised to find Jin tugging on the same type of garment.

"We look like twins." I giggled.

"Aw, yer too cute ta be me twin." Jin said.

"You charmer. That mouth of yours is gonna get you into trouble one of these days." I giggled and stepped over to him.

"It already has, luv. It already has." Jin said.

He wrapped an arm around me and jumped us down from the tree we had spent our second night in. I don't think my poor stomach was ever going to get used to this.

…

True to his word, we spent the morning walking a lot slower then yesterday. The atmosphere was very enjoyable as we talked about nothing at all. I discovered that his favorite color was red (because of his hair) and I told him mine was green. He asked what it was like to go to school and I asked him what it was like to be a shinobi. Yes, I screwed up the word again and he had a good laugh over it. Once he got on the subject it was hard to get a word in edge wise, not that I wanted to, his story was so interesting. We broke for breakfast and had our first break. He checked my leg and insisted on rubbing it, even though it didn't hurt. I learned another interesting fact about Jin, he is persistent and doesn't give up. YOU try arguing with a sharp toothed, fast talking, Irish demon. Its harder than it looks. In the end I gave up, especially when he suggested that he wasn't above playing dirty to change my mind. I caved like a bad roof with too much snow on it.

We rested for at least a half an hour before continuing on our way. The rest of the morning passed much like the first half, both of us playing twenty questions with the other. I asked him if he liked to sing, he said no but humming was okay. He asked where I had picked up my skills for harmony and I told him about choir class. He volunteered that it was his mother who taught him how to hum before he was chosen to be a shinobi.

"What was your mother like?" I asked curious.

Jin sighed and closed his eyes. "I don really remember her. I only stayed with her until I was about six, then I was chosen by me master ta learn how ta control the wind. She had pretty eyes though, and her hands were very gentle. What about your mother?"

The subject of my mother was a very soar one for me. I could talk about other people's, but mine...That was a private pain that never went away. I guess it came from never having known her.

"I never knew her. She died in a car accident right after I was born. Dad said a drunk driver crossed traffic and hit her head on. She never stood a chance."

"So, that's what he told ya." Jin said quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Jin placed a hand on the back of his head and looked at the ground. "I don know if its my place ta tell ya."

I stopped walking. "Jin. What happened to my mother."

"Yes, Jin. Tell her what happened to her mother."

Jin and I both froze as a woman materialized in front of us. She was tall, at least 5'8". Long golden locks were pulled back into a tight braid that fell to her ankles. Amber eyes glowed, as if somebody was shining a light through honey. Her face was very proportional, sporting high cheek bones and full dark purple lips. The only thing that marred the perfection was a long scar that trailed from her outer left eye corner to her mouth. Two other demons fell in beside her out of the forest. One was a dark man with so much muscle he looked almost too bound up to walk. The other made my blood run cold. He looked like a cross between a lizard and a human.

"So sloppy, letting us sneak up on you like that. Though, with how loud you talk it was a wonder we didn't find you sooner." Her voice was just like her eye color, honeyed.

Jin pulled me behind him and barred his teeth at the new woman. She laughed.

"Nice ta see ya again Kodachi. I see the scar I left on your cheek is still there." Jin said.

"Give us the girl and we'll let you live." Kodachi said eyes growing cold.

"If I remember right, now correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I kick yer arse the last time we met?" Jin asked.

Her eyes grew murderous before she schooled them into a more pleasant emotion. "Beginners luck, Jin. Merely beginners luck. My master has made me stronger then you will ever know. Speaking of which, Master is always looking for new full blooded demon recruits, why not dump the half demon brat, and join us?"

"Ya can take Carrie over me dead body, Kodachi." Jin spat.

Kodachi let her face split into a feral smile. It was more a baring of teeth than anything else. "That can be arranged, Jin."

Muscle man stepped forward. "You need not sully your hands with this one, my lady." The voice was deep and gravely. It was a voice that you could hear in your bones.

"Very well, Ajax." Kodachi purred.

Suddenly a hand was pulling me away from Jin with a jerk. I looked up into a pair of unearthly yellow eyes. He had skin that was puke green in color. Vicious teeth snapped in my face and I screamed. The lizard-man from Kodachi's side pulled me into a mock embrace and caressed a side of my cheek with yellowed claws.

"Don't move, Jin or he'll snap her neck. You see, I've grown a bit in power since our last fight. More than enough to cloud your mind so that you didn't see my henchmen move. I will give you our offer one last time, as my master would like to loose as little pure demon blood as possible. Let us take the girl, and we will let you live."

Jin looked over his shoulder at me. He might have been telling me something with his eyes, but whatever it was I didn't get it. I was too distracted when the creature holding me began to speak.

"You were sssso much fun to play with lassssst time. Ya wanna continue where we left off?" The lizard's voice sounded so much like a hiss that it was hard to understand. I knew that hiss, I'd heard it many times before on Animal planet. He sounded like a gila monster trying to speak. His hand grabbed my breast and squeezed painfully.

A voice, very similar to the one belonging to the lizard-man holding me, echoed in my brain. _The kitten doesn't want to play. Hold her arms boys, you can have her when I'm done with her. _

"AUGH!" The demon holding me fell to the ground, my foot lodged in his groin.

"YOU SUNAVA BITCH!" I was screaming.

I kicked him again in the balls. Over and over and over. I kicked him so hard he slid away from me a few feet. Behind me I could hear fighting, wind blew my hair over my eyes, but I didn't care. I advanced on the demon, his hands scrabbled in the dirt, then he was throwing it at my eyes. I threw up my hands to block it, taking looking away for just a second. Suddenly he was on me. Claws tearing my skin teeth snapping in my face. I gnashed my teeth back at him in a feral growl. I don't know how I did it but I wrapped my hands around his neck and squeezed. We were spinning and I landed on top sitting on his chest.

"YOU. SUNAVA. BITCH!" With each word that came out of my mouth I slammed his head into the ground.

Somebody grabbed me around the waist and pulled me off of the lizard. I reached behind me and grabbed hair, with a vicious jerk I yanked it out by the roots. A woman's voice screamed above me. She threw me away from her. I was airborne. I twisted myself around in the air and watched as she jumped up after me. It was one of those moments where time seemed to stand still. It took forever for her to get to me, but at the same time it felt like I had no time. I threw my right hand out in front of me and screamed.

White light streamed from my open palm and hit her stunned face head on. I forced all of my rage, my hate, my hope into that one blast. It engulfed her and with a scream she was gone. But not dead. Somehow I knew that she was not dead. I hit the ground seconds later, hard. I lay stunned with the taste of blood in my mouth. I was hauled up by my hair.

"BITCH!" The hiss was so thick that I almost couldn't make out the word.

I screamed in rage and struck out with my open hand. My nails caught in the flesh of his cheek, running over the pebbled skin. They left a red ruin in their wake. Blood flew and he kneed me in the gut. My air went out of me in a whoosh. I couldn't breathe. A fist came down on my back, punching me into the dirt. A kick sent me spinning end over end. I crashed into a rock hard enough that my nose bled and tears sprang to my eyes. I rolled, narrowly missing a punch that had been aimed at the back of my head. I rolled a gain, avoiding a kick. As I rolled I spun myself and tucked my knees up to my chest. I watched as he lifted his leg to kick again. The kicking leg went back to gather momentum and I threw my legs out in front of me. My feet collided with his supporting leg's kneecap. I felt something break beneath my sneakers and his leg bent backwards like a birds. He screamed and fell to the ground. I grabbed a nearby rock and hoisted it over my head. The demon passed out but I hit him over the head anyway. I would be damned if he got up again.

"Carrie! Ya alright luv?" Jin asked and walked over.

I couldn't seem to catch my breath. "HE RAPED ME!"

Jin stiffened and cast a glance back down at the lizard.

My hands flew to the sides of my head and I dragged my nails down the side of my face. I could remember it now. That demon and a bunch of others had kidnapped me from school. Right out of gym class, we had been playing kickball. For two whole days I was their captive. They beat me, though never hard enough to leave marks. On the last day, when they were board, they cut me loose and told me to run. I did, but I wasn't fast enough. When they caught me I had been so scared that I froze. They held me down and took turns. It had gone on for what seemed like years. Each one of those...things...had raped me. When I had tried to kill myself, they had drugged me. The last words I remember their leader saying was: _death is too good for you, you half-blood bitch._

Jin's hands were on my wrists pulling them away from my face. "Luv! Carrie! Listen ta Jin now. Don panic. I know yer hurtin but we gotta move."

"THEY RAPED ME!" I cried.

Jin pulled me into his arms. "I know, luv. I know. It'll be alright. But we can't stay here."

I let him lead me away from the demon. He spoke to me, but I didn't pay attention to the words. I felt hollow, like a piece of me had been carved out with an ice-cream scoop. We were almost back into the woods when something hit Jin in the back. He stiffened and let out a cry. He pushed me away from him and pulled out whatever had hit him in the back. With a curse he threw it away.

"Jin, what..."

I never got to finish my thought. Jin grabbed me around the waist and we were off like a shot up into the air. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pillowed my head in his lower back. I thanked my lucky stars that My butt was up by his head. Had my mouth been up there, I wouldn't have been able to breathe. We were moving so fast that it was hard to enough to breathe as it was. It was like shoving your head out the car window when barreling 80 miles an hour down the freeway. If I wasn't careful my lungs could collapse.

Jin's muscles went slack beneath me. I could feel him shake his head. With a cry he pushed us faster. He couldn't keep the pace though, and again his muscles went slack. We listed to the left so fast that it tore a scream from my throat. The world spun and suddenly I was looking up at red sky, my head pillowed in his chest. Jin's arms locked around my body with as much strength as he could muster.

"Jin! What's happening?" I yelled, but I could barely be heard above the roaring wind.

We started to list towards the earth. We were coming in too fast, branches broke against his back as we fell. We hit the ground seconds later and I was torn from his grip. I felt my body fling through space, I remember seeing the ground coming towards me, but I don't remember hitting it. I didn't remember much after that.

…

I woke to a pain in my right arm. I looked down and grimaced. It had a gash in it running from my wrist to my elbow. Thankfully it was on the backside of my arm, otherwise I would have been dead. Other small pains erupted around my body, though none were as bad as my arm. Somehow I managed to get up to a sitting position and rest my back against a tree. What was I doing here? Where was I. I felt something hot run down my arm. I looked down, the gash had reopened when I moved and red blood was oozing down my arm.

RED? JIN! The past event hit me like a tun of bricks. Jin had been hurt. We took off and we crashed. He had saved my life at the last moment by taking the brunt of the fall. I got to my feet and started walking. I found the backpack not far off, caught up on a tree limb. I walked over to it and pulled it down. My injured arm didn't seem to want to work right, and my fingers kept twitching. I opened the bag and pulled out the cloth Jin had tied us together with at night. It took me a few tries and some nasty cursing, but I managed to wrap the cloth around my gash. Blood soaked into the fabric, but it would hold. I slung the backpack over my shoulders and started walking.

"Jin!" I called. "Jin, where are you?"

A flash of red caught my eye and I turned. He was laying on his back, utterly still. I ran over to him and knelt down in the dirt. I placed my fingers over the big vein in his neck, trying to feel for a pulse. There was nothing. I put my ear to his chest and listened like I had never before. I couldn't hear anything. His chest rose after an agonizing moment and fell. The motion was repeated often enough that I knew he was breathing. But why wasn't his heart beating? How different were demons to humans? I cursed my stupidity. I had never even thought that something could happen to him. He had saved me, bad thing were not supposed to happen to the people who saved you.

A twig snapped behind me, making my heart pound like mad. I looked around, but there was nothing there. I suddenly felt like we were being watched and I knew that we couldn't stay here. I quickly felt up and down Jin's body, trying to see if there were any broken bones. I didn't feel anything. I prayed he didn't have a neck injury, I didn't want to kill him when I moved him.

A few years ago my dad had me attend a CPR class provided by our local fire department. I had been really bummed that I lost a whole Saturday to something as boring as CPR. But, after the class started, I had gotten over being mad and had fun playing doctor with the dummies. Out of all the things I learned that day, I was most grateful for having been taught the fireman's carry. We had practiced all day with those dummies, and those who scored highest on the written test got to participate in a race. The dummies had been lifted and whoever ran the race the fastest won a candy bar. I didn't win, but my Saturday hadn't been a total waste.

I stood over Jin and did my best to remember how to start the lift. It took a few tries, but I finally had him positioned correctly. I groaned when I lifted him up so that our chests touched. The dummies had never been this heavy! His body was like water and I had to be careful not to drop him or let him slide out of my grip. I was breathing hard by the time I had pulled his right arm over my left shoulder. I dipped down into a squat and put my hands between his legs. My legs burned as I lifted him up, for a moment I didn't think I was gonna make it, but somehow I got up to a standing position. I did what I could to distribute his weight evenly across my shoulders. Once I had him as good as I was gonna get I started walking and praying we were going in the right direction.

…

Place one foot in front of the other. One. Two. One. Two. Left. Right. Left. Right. I coached myself in my head, then quietly out loud when I started to get breathless. My shoulders ached and my legs felt like they were on fire. I don't know how long I had been carrying him, but it felt like forever.

"Get moving girl. You can do it. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." I ran out of breath and I had to pant before I could finish. "Swimming...swimming."

I wanted to stop so bad, but I didn't dare. If I stopped I would never be able to get him back up. I stumbled over a tree root and almost lost it. I cursed but kept my balance. Something in my back popped and now that hurt too.

"God darn it Jin. You are heavy." I groaned as I walked. "What do they feed you?"

"Muscle is heavier than fat." A deep masculine voice said from behind me.

I spun around to find a man standing there. My blood ran cold when I recognized him. It was that guy who was with Kodachi, Ajax I think it was. His arms were crossed over his chest, but they were so big it didn't seem natural. I gulped and took a step away from him. He grinned, white teeth flashing.

"Though your effort to help your friend is admirable, I must ask that you put him down and come with me." Ajax said. He sounded oh-so-reasonable.

"If I don't?" I asked.

His grin became wider. "Then we'll see just how powerful your little palm blasts really are."

I tensed and took another step back.

"Don't run, little girl. You will get hurt and I cannot guarantee what my companions will do to you then."

I didn't know what to do. I would not abandon Jin. I'd rather die. I was about to try and escape when the air grew so cold my breath fogged out of my mouth. Ajax turned to the right and smiled.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was still oh-so-nice.

I watched as a man stepped out from the foliage. He was tall, but not as tall as Jin. Hair the color of ice was slicked back around his head, while for large green spikes fell over his left eye. Those eyes were cold and calculating, taking in the scene before him with little emotion. Frost crackled around his bare toes. I groaned. That was not fair! Bad guys were not supposed to have back up! Ajax must not have liked this guy because his lips fell into a frown. When a sword of Ice formed around the new guy's bare hand, I didn't wait. I spun on my heel and ran.

I ignored the branches as they clawed at my face. My aching legs burned with each step. It wasn't long before my left hip began to pop. Please, please, please, leg don't fail me now. I prayed as I ran. It wasn't long before every step became agony, like a knife was plunging into my hip. I could hear fighting behind me. Who was that new guy? Were he and Ajax really friends? Did I really want to find out? The answer was no. I knew that as soon as the fight was over the winner would be able to turn his attention to other things. I so did NOT want to be one of those things.

I was forced to slow to a walk when my bum leg buckled, almost dislodging Jin from my shoulders. I don't know how much farther I got before my bad leg gave out on me. I hopped on my right leg like a demented bunny before finally loosing my footing and crashing to the ground. I lay there for a moment before scrambling up on my hands and good knee. I got over to Jin and made sure that the fall hadn't hurt him. He was still unconscious, but other than that he seemed okay.

I heard something behind me and turned. Ice blue eyes locked into mine. He still had the sword out. I knew I wasn't going to make it any farther. "GO AWAY!" I screamed and waved my hand at him. When the man took a step forward I threw my body on top of Jin's. I knew it wasn't much protection, but it was all I had. "Please, just go away." I begged quietly.

I waited for a sword blow that never came. Instead a cool hand placed itself on my shoulder. I looked up into a pair of serious eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you. I've been looking for you two. Your late." The voice was as cool as the air around him.

"Who are you?" I asked.

He smiled for the first time, and it was warm despite the cold that radiated off of him. "My name is Touya. Jin and I were sent to help you."

I don't know why but I got up and threw my arms around his neck, the cold jelling my sweat to my skin. "Oh, thank god!" I pulled back and looked down at Jin. "He's hurt. Something hit him and...and he's been like this ever since."

Touya pulled away from me and inspected the fallen shinobi's body. It didn't take him long to find the wound on his back. The cloak had soaked up the blood from when Jin hand torn what ever that thing was out of his skin. Touya pulled the cloak back and his lips pursed when he saw blood and something green leaking out of the wound.

"We need to get him to the village. Can you walk?" Touya asked.

I pulled myself to my feet and gritted my teeth against the pain. I could and would make it. "Yes." I grated out.

Touya picked up Jin in a similar fashion as to what I had done and started off. I followed him, limping all the way.

…

end chapter 4

Phew...that was fun. I couldn't wait to pull in Touya. Jin and him pair up so well...at least when Jin's awake. Tune in next time to see where our crazy characters go next.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Carry on my wayward son

Jin lay spread out on a cot. His chest rose and fell evenly. He was asleep now and would be until morning. Touya had healed him, using some sort of technique that I couldn't explain, let alone try to understand. What I **was **able to understand was that Jin had been poisoned. It came from the dart that Jin had torn out of his skin. The tip had been covered in poison made from a lizard demon's spit. Apparently their bite was toxic and the poison they used was milked much like a snakes and turned into long distance throwing weapons. If Touya hadn't found us when he did, Jin would have died.

I winced as Touya gently unwrapped the cloth from my arm. The blood had dried into the cloth and removing it was pulling off my scabs and causing it to bleed again. To keep my mind off the pain, I had asked Touya how Jin could be alive when he didn't have a heart-beat. Touya was a good sport and had answered me. But his answer of 'demons don't have hearts' threw me for a loop. "What do you mean demons don't have hearts? How do they survive?" I asked.

"Demons have cores instead of hearts. We rely on our demonic aura to sustain us. That aura is stored inside our core." His voice was even and smooth, almost like he was reading out of a text book.

In the few hours I had known him, I realized that Touya was Jin's exact opposite. Where Jin was loud, Touya was quiet. Jin was boisterous, Touya subdued. They were like oil and water, fire and...well...ice. But somehow that difference seemed to pull them together, like opposite ends of a magnet. I could tell Touya had really, truly, cared for Jin with how gentle his hands were.

I hissed when Touya put something on my arm.

"To prevent infection." He said.

I nodded and looked over at Jin. He was resting a lot more peacefully then before. Touya wrapped my arm up with a clean bandage.

"I would offer to take you to the baths, but the less others see of you, the better." Touya said.

"That's okay. Are you sure he'll be alright?"

Touya gently put my arm down and patted my shoulder. I looked away from Jin to Touya. The smile was back on Touya's face, making it more gentle. He had a good smile, even though it wasn't as easy to bring forth as Jin's.

"He'll be fine. Come with me."

I stood up and followed Touya. My left leg popped and was so stiff I almost couldn't move it forward. But I managed to follow after the Ice master. He led me to another room, I guess it was a bathroom, and sat me down on a stool. He had produced a bucket of hot water from somewhere and a rag. He held it out to me and I took it.

"I know this isn't as nice as a bath, but it will have to do." He motioned to the corner and I saw a bundle of cloth neatly folded on top of another stool. "There are fresh cloths and soap." He paused and walked over to the bundle, picked it up (stool and all) before placing it next to me. "Once your finished, I'll look at your leg." With that he left me alone, sliding the door closed behind him.

I looked around the room. This was the weirdest bathroom ever. There were no toilets, sinks, or showers. There was only a vanity against the far wall and a closet standing like a lonely soldier to my left. It made me wonder where Touya had gotten the hot water. A knocking at the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Miss? May I come in?"

"Uh...Sure." I said.

Touya opened the door and walked over to the closet. Inside were big fluffy white towels—I thought that odd as there were no facilities up here. He brought one over and placed it on the stool. He turned and started to leave.

"I could have got that." I said, feeling silly. "Your not a maid."

A ghost of a smile played around Touya's lips. It gave me hope that perhaps this ice master wasn't as serious as he let on.

"Don't worry about it, miss."

"Carrie." I said.

Touya nodded and left, door sliding closed with a snap.

I turned my attention to the water. Hot water. Lovely, relaxing, hot water. I stripped off my clothing, suddenly unable to stand them anymore. They were caked with dirt, grime, sweat, blood, and other things I did not really want to know about. I threw them away from me and they landed in a dejected heap. I sat naked on the stool and tried to decide what to do first. Should I wash myself, or my hair? If I did my body first, that water would get icky. Hair first. I sighed and let my vanity win out. At least the floor was wood. If I splashed I shouldn't do much damage.

Having decided what to start with I now found myself pondering my next question, how in the world did I start? I thought about my options and in the end decided the easiest way would be to bring my hair to the water instead of vice-verca. I bit my lip and slid off the stool. My leg was not happy with the movement, but I didn't care. I was gonna be clean come hell or high water. I knelt in front of the bucket and pushed my shoulder-length hair into it. I almost didn't have enough room to get my hand in there and scoop the water onto my head. I managed to get my head wet and didn't spill much water in the process, hot damn.

I let my hair get thoroughly soaked then twisted it to wring out the excess water. The soap Touya had given me was bar soap, not the best for hair. I lathered up as best I could. This process was repeated until my hair squeaked clean. With my head dipped down, I rung it out over the bucket. I reached for the towel Touya had brought me and got to my feet. I kept my head pointed to the floor and draped the towel over my head, settling it slightly above my ears. With a few twists and a tuck I had my hair wrapped up and hidden from sight.

I limped over to the closet and took out another towel before sitting down on my stool. It was heaven to run the wet rag over my body. Once I was clean I wrapped the towel around myself and let it suck the water from my skin. After a few minuets I unwrapped the towel and dried myself. I stopped when a stray thought struck me cold. I wasn't on birth control and I had been raped. Was...could I be pregnant?

The thought that I could be pregnant with a lizard baby made my world spin. My hands wandered to my stomach and I held it. I looked at it as I could already see the phantom embryo inside. My breathing hitched and I had to put my head between my knees. It hadn't been just once either. Those things had used my body over and over. I didn't know how on earth I couldn't be pregnant. I put my hands over my eyes and hissed a breath through clenched teeth. My god...what was gonna happen to me?

A knock at the door made me look up. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I lied.

"Dinner is ready whenever your finished." Touya said.

I nodded, then realized he couldn't see it. "I'll be out in a minuet."

Fear ate at my insides as I finished drying myself. I lifted up the clothing Touya had left me. I was shocked to find that it was a Kimono. Well, it wasn't really a Kimono, only the under robe. From various comic books I knew that this one was used mostly for sleeping. I debated putting on my bra and under panties, but I didn't think I could stand them against my skin anymore. I put on the kimono and tied it as best I could. I had never worn one of these things before.

I took a deep breath. There was nothing I could do about possibly being pregnant and I didn't have the time or courage to deal with it now. Being about as dressed and mentally prepared as I was gonna get, I opened the door and limped out.

…

Touya looked up when I came in. Amusement sparkled behind his eyes and it looked like he was trying not laugh.

"What?" I asked.

"Your wearing it wrong." He said. "May I help you?"

I nodded. When he reached out and untied the tie I gasped, hands flying up to close the robe. Touya was a gentleman and closed his eyes, giving me the illusion of privacy.

"Wearing the kimono right over left is for the dead. Its like this." He reached out and flipped the hem. I held it closed when he opened his eyes and started to fix the ties and shorten the length. "Kimono are designed to be long. We use the thin tie to hold it in place. Let that extra your holding fall over. Use your arms to push it. No. Here, allow me." He reached up and gently pulled the extra. The hem fell tight and rested around my ankles while the top billowed, but stayed shut. Touya moved behind me and pulled the neck back so that the fabric crossed about where the dip in my collar bone was. "The seam should fall straight down the back. And we loop the thick belt like this." He pulled the thick belt tight between his hands, letting the ends fall to the floor, when he pulled back the belt was pressed tight—but not too tight, until he crossed it behind the back, looped it around my waist again, then tucked crossed the ends like he was making the first part of a bow. Instead of finishing the bow he tucked the ends up and under the top layer of crossed belt. I was surprised at how well the thing held. "There. That's just the under layer. I'll help you with the outer kimono and obi tomorrow."

The garment fit and honestly looked better then the monstrosity I had come out with. I tucked my hands into the sleeves and waved them, slightly pleased at how the short oddly shaped sleeves waggled back and forth.

"Carrie, come and eat before it gets cold." Touya said.

I obeyed and followed him to a low set table. My stomach growled at the smell of food. Touya helped me sit and handed me a pair of chopsticks. I may not have known how to wear a kimono, but I did know how to eat with chopsticks. Dad and I had a soft spot for Chinese food and terriyaki. I watched as Touya scooped some rice into a bowl and handed it to me. I took it with a thank you and tucked in. I loved rice.

I almost laughed when Touya started to eat. He sounded like a vacuum cleaner. Chopsticks clinked as he made short work of the rice. Men. I was a little slower and a lot more quiet. Like I smelled earlier, there was fish. We also had miso soup, tempura vegetables, tea, and some sort of spicy dish that I didn't recognize—but loved. The meal was ended and I was a little sad that there were no fortune cookies.

"Wheres the cookies?" I asked.

Touya shot up an eyebrow. "Cookies?"

"Yea, the fortune cookies. You know the ones that are shaped like weird C's and you break them open to read the fortune inside."

Touya shook his head. "I've never heard of those before. Are they customary after a meal where you come from?"

I raised an eyebrow, then remembered I was in demon world. "No, they only come after you eat Asian food. I thought that maybe we would have got some with this type of dinner. Forgot where I was."

Touya nodded though I don't think he completely understood. I looked over at Jin. He was still dead to the world. "Can I got sit with him?" I asked.

"Let me look at your leg first." Touya said.

I turned away from the table as he walked over and knelt in front of me. His hands felt my leg muscles and his lips pursed when he felt my hip. I grimaced and looked away as my muscles screamed under his fingers. Suddenly his hands were cold as ice and the pain faded. I found it odd that cold could relax my muscles almost as well as heat.

"I'm not a healer, this type of injury is beyond me. I want you to keep of this leg as much as possible." I was surprised when Touya lifted me up and carried me over to Jin's side. He lowered me into a chair and scooted me up next to the sleeping wind master.

"Thank you." I whispered.

Touya nodded and walked away from me. I felt a little guilty when I heard him cleaning up the food. "Need help?" I asked, painfully aware that I hadn't thought to clean up the stuff myself.

"No. You need to stay sitting. I'm done anyway."

I turned back to Jin and took his hand between mine. Again I was reminded at how big they were. I stroked his hand with my thumbs and watched his eyes dart around beneath his closed lids. I wondered what he was dreaming about. I hoped that whatever it was, it was pleasant.

…

"Carrie, its time to sleep." Touya said.

I woke with a start and looked up. I had dosed off with my head pillowed on Jin's arm, still holding his hand with my right one. Jin hadn't moved an inch.

"What time is it?" I whispered.

"A little after ten." Touya said.

I stiffed a yawn behind my hand and nodded. I shifted my legs and groaned. My left leg had stiffened up really bad. I got up and patted the hand I still held.

"'Night Jin." I whispered.

I let go of his hand, but Jin didn't. I tried to take my hand out of his, but it was stuck like glue.

"Carrie, he'll be there in the morning." Touya said.

"Its not me. He won't let go." I hissed.

Touya came over and looked down. I wiggled my trapped fingers and gave a little tug. Jin responded by tightening his fingers. I gasped slightly, it was so tight it almost hurt.

"I wouldn't do that again if I were you. He could break your hand on accident." Touya said.

"He wouldn't do that." I said.

"No, not intentionally. Let me try and get his hand off you." Touya said.

Not intentionally? Touya didn't have to say the words for me to get their hidden meaning. He could crush every bone in my hand and not even know he was doing it. Touya walked over and inspected the situation. With cool and careful fingers he took hold of Jin's thumb and peeled it back.

I gasped and my legs gave out from under me. Touya stepped closer and used both his hand to catch Jin's fingers, his quick action kept my hand from being crushed into red jelly, but it wasn't enough to keep Jin from hurting me. It was like I was caught in a vice. "JIN YOUR HURTING ME!" I gasped out the words. Suddenly the pressure eased off and I could breathe. Touya took his hands away. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"I don't suggest we do that again." Touya said.

"Yea." I said, my breath coming in pants.

I licked my lips and looked up at Jin's sleeping face. Was it just me or did he loosen his grip when I asked to him. An interesting question.

"Jin, let go of my hand please."

Nothing happened. I waited for a few moments and when nothing happened I asked again. When nothing happened again I sat back down into the chair.

"I think I'm stuck here for the night. Thanks anyway Touya." I said.

He nodded once and I watched as he opened a closet door and set himself up a cot. His movements were like his attitude, calculated, precise, efficient, and detail oriented. There was no hint of vanity or flamboyancy with Touya. I turned away from him and patted Jin's hand.

"I am gonna get you for this, mister." I whispered.

I gasped when something fell around my shoulders. Touya laughed quietly behind me as I realized he had slipped an extra blanket over me. "Thank you." I seemed to be saying that a lot to Touya. I hoped that wasn't becoming my new catch phrase.

"Your welcome." Touya said and snuffed out the light. The cot creaked as he got into it.

"Night Touya." I whispered.

I thought I heard Touya say good-night as I settled the blanket down around me. Moments later I could hear Touya's soft even breathing. It struck me as funny how both Jin and Touya could fall asleep on a dime. I let that thought drift around in my head as I felt myself fall asleep. I think I was dreaming because it wasn't morning yet. I felt somebody kiss my forehead and lift me up. The dream ended with me snuggling up next to a warm body and a goofy smile across my face.

…

End chapter 5

Thanks to all of you who reviewed my story and added me to your favorites list. Though I am a bad monkey and don't respond I DO read everything you guys send.

Have a wonderful day (or night) and I'll see you next time.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

On the road again

I was pregnant. My body went from flat to bloated in a matter of moments. I was so scared. I was running...well waddling. I could see Jin ahead of me. I called out to him. He didn't seem to hear me. I waddled faster, but stopped when my gut clenched in pain. I called his name in fear and pain. Jin looked over his shoulder at me and the look he gave me chilled me to my bones. He took off, leaving me behind. I screamed and gave birth to a lizard.

…

I sat up panting hands flying to my belly. It was still flat. I wasn't huge and lumbering.

"Mornin, Luv." A quiet voice said.

I looked over to my left to see Jin nursing a cup of tea in mid air. I looked around and realized I was in the bed and Touya was nowhere to be found.

"Whats going on? Where's Touya?" I asked confused.

Jin glided over and pressed a cup of tea into my hands. I took it, grateful for its warmth.

"Touya went out this mornin ta contact yer dad. Said he'd be back soon. How did ya sleep?"

I took a gulp from the tea and grimaced at how bitter it was. Green tea. I don't know why, but whenever I drank green tea it felt like I had swallowed twigs.

"I slept...good." I finally said.

Jin cocked an eyebrow and looked like he didn't believe me, but he didn't question the subject. Something felt...off with the wind master. He was usually bubbly and happy, but today he seemed...I don't know, sour.

"Jin-"

"Ah, Touya's back." Jin landed on his feet and opened the door for the ice master.

Touya walked in and took of his cloak. "Your father is sending his men. They should be here within the hour. Here, I got this for you." He walked over and placed something long and thin wrapped in brown paper into my lap.

I looked down then up at him. Touya twitched his lips slightly and nodded his head, instructing me to open it. I did and found that it was a cane. It was carved from wood so dark that it looked black.

"Until we get to a healer, you need to use that and keep the weight off your leg. Alright, lets get moving." Touya didn't say that last part to me. He started getting things in order in the room.

I got out of the bed and followed Touya's example by folding up the blankets.

"Damn it, Carrie! Didn't ya hear what Touya said. Sit down before ya hurt yourself."

I was so shocked at the tone that I dropped the blanket. Jin stalked over and I backed away, plopping into a chair. He took up the blanket and viciously folded it. I didn't know what to do when I heard him mutter something about stupid women. What in the world had happened to Jin?

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

Jin didn't look at me when he placed the blankets into the closet. "Touya, I'm goin out."

With that he was gone, door slamming behind him.

I sat dumbfounded. Jin was being down right cold. I looked over at Touya, unable to keep the shock from my face. Touya walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Lets get you dressed. Your father's men will be here soon."

…

The kimono was black with a pattern of fans and clouds decorating the bottom and right sleeve. The obi was black with so much silver thread that it shined. The embroidery reminded me of flowing water because it wove up and down playing with hexagons filled with red embroidered flowers. Behind the flowing silver thread were small patters of pinkish-orange flowers. The obi almost felt like a corset, tightening my tummy and giving me the illusion of height. The obi was tied into a box shape, which I knew from various anime was a more traditional tie.

Touya explained that it was a tomesode kimono, as far as I understood the only difference between it and a furisode was color and sleeve size. I got a little lost but to make a long story short, long sleeved kimonos called furisode were formal wear for young unmarried women. They tended to lend themselves to bright colors and patterns. The kind I wore, the tomesode, was formal for someone a little older or married. These usually had complex designs for just the hemline and sometimes a sleeve, the colors were darker and more sophisticated. Touya said that I should have been wearing the furisode but he had changed it because, to put it bluntly, I had no idea how to move in the thing.

I hadn't understood why he had me put on the strange split-toed tabi socks first until he got me fully dressed. I was sad to report that I couldn't have bent over well enough to pull the socks on even if I wanted to. That made getting into my sneakers completely impossible. Thankfully Touya had shoes for me too. He called them geta and they looked like wooden flip-flops with thick red straps. They felt a little funny being on my feet. I didn't think they fit quite right because they stuck out about an inch farther than my toes . But, according to Touya, they weren't supposed to fit like American shoes.

The door burst open and Jin walked in, four large bald men behind him. The men were dressed in what looked like light blue MC Hammer pants, the same color cowled long sleeved undershirts, and a long darker blue vest that was edged in a black zigzag pattern and synched at the waist. Jin was with them so I knew that they weren't bad men. They kind of reminded me of bald monks. The leader, a long faced man with a pointed chin and tiny irises, bowed slightly. I clumsily bowed back.

"Carrie-Hime, we were sent by your father to bring you home. My name is Hokushin." His voice was heavily accented in Japanese.

I raised a hand and wiggled my fingers warily. "Hello."

Hokushin smiled at me then turned to Jin. "Are Carrie-Hime's things prepared?"

Jin answered the affirmative and walked off grabbing some bags. I reached out to help him, then stopped. I was afraid he would yell at me again. I put my arm down and looked away. I didn't want him angry at me any more than he already was.

I turned back to Hokushin when he cleared his throat. "May I escort you to the carriage?"

I picked up my cane and adjusted my weight so that it took the brunt of it. I looked over my shoulder at Jin, but he seemed to be looking everywhere else but at me. Was this good-bye?

"Are you guys coming too?" I asked Touya. I was secretly surprised that I had asked the question. I lowered my head and let my hair hide my burning cheeks.

Touya laughed. "Yes, were coming too."

I couldn't keep the smile off my face and I stepped forward and followed the demons out the door, Touya and Jin took up the rear. I felt like I was in the middle of a very strange parade. Walking in a kimono was a lot harder then I had ever imagined. The fabric was tight around my legs and constricted their movement. After a few steps that sent the kimono hem billowing around my legs and flashing the underskirt, Touya stepped a little closer to me.

"Bend your knees slightly and take smaller steps." He advised.

I obeyed and found that the movement actually had me moving better. At least I wasn't flashing my legs anymore. I followed them down a hall and about half way there my calf muscles started burning. Jeez, Japanese ladies must have killer legs. I tried not to clop like a horse as we went down a flight of stairs. But the shoes made it almost impossible. I was very thankful when I got to the bottom. One of the bald guys broke off and headed off into the building, I was assuming to pay for our stay. Hokushin ushered our little group out into a bright and sunny Makai morning. I gasped when I saw the carriage. It was like something out of a story book. A horror story, but a story none the less. It was pulled by...well I don't know what else to call them but creatures. They resembled horses only in the fact that they walked on four legs and the bits to their bridals went into their mouths. They hissed and writhed, impatient to get moving. Their serpentine bodies undulated and tails lashed the air.

"Those are wyrms. Distant cousin to the dragons that lurk in spirit world." Hokushin said.

"They...are they nice?" I asked. I was going to say beautiful, for they were in their own way. The wyrms were colored a purple so dark they were almost black. Their skin looked like pebbles that shone in the sun, each catching a different color like peacock feathers. but something about the word beautiful seemed off and didn't fit their grace.

Hokushin smiled, though it wasn't a nice smile. "No."

A footman jumped off the back of the carriage and opened the door. A step ladder attached to the bottom of the carriage swung down for easy access. Touya took my arm and helped me into it. Thank god he was there because I don't think I could have made it in otherwise. As it was I had to hike up the hem to my knees so that I could step in. I thought I heard someone snicker behind me. What, hasn't anybody ever seen knees before?

Touya shut the door behind him and I heard the crack of a whip. I was jolted backward as the carriage lumbered forward.

"Isn't anybody else getting in?" I asked.

"No. Hokushin and his men are providing cover. Jin is scouting ahead to make sure the rebels haven't laid any traps between here and your father's home."

"Oh." I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice and looked out the window. One of the bald guys was running close by. I let my mouth drop open. How was he keeping up with the carriage, we had to be going at least 40 miles an hour.

I pointed, my shock getting the better of me. "How in the world...wait. Why is this shocking me? Jin can fly for gods sake." I berated myself.

Touya laughed at me and I shot him a sheepish smile. We rode in silence for a while, but you know me...

"Hey Touya, why did that Hoko..Hoki...ugh, Mr. H keep calling me Hime?" I asked.

"Hokushin." He supplied with a smirk.

"Yea! Hokushin." I snapped my fingers at the name.

"He was adding an honorific, it means princess." Touya answered.

I nodded. That made since, my dad was the king after all. Suddenly a question hit me. I felt so nervous about asking it that my palms began to sweat. I rubbed them against the seat. "Um...Did I do something bad?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Touya asked.

I looked down at the floor and studied my shoes. "Well...Jin seems mad at me. I was wondering what I did wrong."

Touya looked out the window and was silent for a moment.

"Jin is upset that he hurt you."

I looked down at the hand he almost crushed last night. "He didn't mean it." I said more to myself than anyone else.

"We know that, and he knows that. But he isn't happy with it. He'll come talk to you when he cools down." Touya said.

I nodded and looked out the window. The bald guy, I think I'll call him Curley for now, felt me looking at him and looked in my direction with a smirk. I got so flustered that he caught me staring that I looked away. "I hope they don't get too tired running like that." I said to cover my embarrassment.

"This is nothing to them. Those men out there are your father's personal guards and messengers. They don't get to be in that position unless they are talented."

I 'oh'ed again. The silence went on after that. When I couldn't take it anymore I started speaking again.

"Hey, Touya."

"Yes." He said.

"I know this will sound corny, but...would you like to be friends?" I asked.

Touya looked stunned.

I put my hand behind my head. "Uh...you don't have to if you don't want to." I said quickly.

"No. No, its not that. Just, no one has asked me that before." He said.

"No one has asked you to be friends?" I questioned.

"No." He said.

"Never?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Well. You have now." I said sweetly.

Touya smirked. "Well, so I have. I'll accept your offer."

I threw a fist above my head, almost hitting it on the roof. "WHOOPIE! I have a friend! I have a friend!" I sing-sang.

Touya looked uncomfortable.

I grinned from ear to ear. "Just to warn you, I'm a little wired."

"I knew that already." Touya said.

I crossed my arms. "Hey! You weren't supposed to agree with me. I thought you were a gentleman."

Touya leaned back and put his arms behind his head. "Don't worry, I won't hold it against you."

I narrowed my eyes. "I think I'm starting to regret asking you for friendship now."

"Too bad your stuck with me." Touya said.

I grinned from ear to ear again. "Thank god for that."

…

End chapter 6

Thanks for reading!

I know that it sounds a little dumb and I don't want to make excuses, but please forgive any weird spelling mistakes. I am a tad dyslexic so sometimes my words come out wrong. I try to catch all of them and proof-read my story as I go along, but I can't always catch those little buggers. So if you see wired for weird, or minuet for minute...please excuse me.

Thanks a bunch for pointing out my errors.

See y'all soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

What do you see, you people? Looking at me

We traveled long into the night. Touya wasn't as talkative as Jin, and I had to do a lot of goading and asking questions to get him started. He answered them like a champ, even if some of them were one word responses. We had stopped only once. It had been late evening with the sun just sinking over a mountain range. Everybody ate quickly. I saw Jin but didn't try to talk to him. Touya was right, he needed his space. I only hoped that he wouldn't stay away for too long.

I felt sick when Hokushin and his men fed the wyrms. They were unhooked from the carriage and given a live rat-like creature that was the size of a small pony. I don't know where Hokushin had gotten the animal, because this was the first time I had ever seen it. The wyrms rushed it and attacked with teeth and claws. The rat screamed like a rabbit, almost hauntingly human. My hands flew over my mouth when I realized that the wyrms were taking their time with the thing. They were eating it alive from the rear first. "Dear god, put it out of its misery!" I whispered.

"That is not their way." Touya said and continued to eat. "Watch and learn. This is Makai, weakness is not tolerated nor is it forgiven. Death rarely comes swift and mercy is a figment of your imagination."

The rat's suffering ended with a vicious crunch. Rib bones snapped as the things tore into the chest cavity, after its vital organs. I stood up, unable to watch anymore. I got myself into the carriage and hid my face in my hands. For the first time I wondered what kind of hell I had ended up in.

We continued on our way not long after that. I didn't feel like talking anymore. Touya didn't seem to mind.

…

I woke when I felt the carriage stop moving. Dawn was poking its head over the horizon. I rubbed my eyes as Touya stood up and got out. I grabbed my cane and followed. The sight that met my eyes was amassing. We were standing in the courtyard of a large old styled Japanese castle. The courtyard was cobblestones and lead up to a large wooden porch. I gasped when I saw what was on the porch. It was my dad.

"Dad...DADDY!" I was running. The cane clattered to the ground. My shoes came off my feet, not meant to be run in. I didn't care. My dad sprinted off the porch, long legs carrying him to me in a matter of moments. I threw my arms around his neck and laughed when he lifted me off the ground and spun me around.

"Carrie, oh Carrie." He put my feet on the ground and held me at arms length. "Were you hurt?"

I didn't have a chance to say no before I was crushed to his chest and he held me. It took me a moment to realize he was crying. I had only ever seen him cry once before, when my grandma had died.

"Daddy, its okay. I'm not hurt, see." I said in shock.

My dad fell to his knees and looked up at me. Tears making his brown eyes swim.

"I hate to break up the festivities, but aren't you going to introduce me Kurama." A gruff voice said.

Kurama? Who was that? I looked at my dad as he bit his lip and wiped a tear away with the back of his hand. His voice was gruff and sounded pained. "I was just getting to that Yusuke. Give me a moment, please." There was something in the conversation. A weight that I didn't understand.

My dad looked up at me, eyes filled with pain. "Carrie, darling. T-There is someone I want you to meet."

A boy, not that much older than me in fact, stepped forward. He radiated confidence and general bad-ass-ness. He wasn't smiling and the look he gave me was filled with an emotion I didn't recognize. I wasn't sure if I liked the way he was looking at me. Dad brought my attention back to him when he squeezed my hands.

"Carrie. What I'm about to say...I want you to know, I love you. I have **always** loved you. You are my daughter, but..." My dad looked over his shoulder. "Yusuke...please." My dad's voice broke.

"No, Kurama." Yusuke said voice hard.

My father barred his teeth and looked up into my eyes. I was suddenly afraid and I didn't want to hear what he had to say. Before I could tell him to stop he continued.

"You are my daughter, but...Yusuke. He, is your father." My dad's voice broke on the last word.

"What?" I asked, then my voice grew hard. "No. NO! There is no way that kid could be my father." I said and pointed. "H-he isn't that much older than I am! He's what, twenty! Daddy, lets go home."

My dad shook his head and suddenly his hair grew long and ran red. It looked like somebody had pored scarlet paint over his head. Youth washed over his tired features, painting them young again. I felt my mouth drop open and my knees grew weak. I was kneeling in front of my father and staring up into a pair of strange, yet hauntingly familiar green eyes. The color wasn't familiar but the expression was. The way the skin wrinkled in worry and how he held his eyebrows in a pained expression. Even the set of his lips. I would know those facial features anywhere.

"Carrie, breathe Carrie." My dad said and shocked my breath into me by hitting my back.

I pulled away from him and staggered to my feet. I felt numb. My legs got tangled in the fabric and I almost lost my footing. Suddenly somebody was beside me catching my elbow. I looked up into a pair of brown eyes. I reacted without thinking and swung my hand out. My fingers and palm collided with his cheek and sent him stumbling away from me. I got my feet under me and backed away, clutching my hand.

The man named Yusuke looked at me his hand going to his face. He looked shocked for a moment before a smile spread over his face. "Wow. I never thought I'd get hit like that again. Your mom would never admit it, but you hit almost as good as she did."

"I don't know who you think you are Yusuke, but don't you EVER touch me again." I hissed.

Yusuke grinned from ear to ear. "You even sound like her too. If you didn't have my hair and nose, I'd say I was looking at her again."

"Don't act like you know my mother. She's dead! She died in a car crash after I was born! How could you have known her." I almost spit the words.

Yusuke flinched at my accusations and crossed his arms over his chest. "He didn't tell you."

"_Jin. What happened to my mother."_

"_I don know if its my place ta tell ya."_

I gritted my teeth suddenly thinking of the conversation I had with Jin. My breath was coming in pants. Yusuke continued.

"She didn't die in a car crash, Carrie. She was murdered." Yusuke looked at the ground. "I couldn't protect her."

I felt the first hot tear slide down my cheek. I growled and wiped it away so hard it felt like I had punched myself. I would not cry. I would not shame myself in front of these people. I bit back my cries and let anger chase the last of my tears away. I felt hot. I was bitter and angry. My hair and kimono sleeves started to flutter in a wind that didn't touch anything else. I was so angry I couldn't speak.

"LIAR!" The word tore itself from my throat so hard it hurt.

"Carrie." My father's bark broke my anger and I looked at him. My hair fell around my shoulders again. He didn't look like my daddy, but at the same time he did. Changing his eyes and hair couldn't hide the fact that his was a face I had loved since childhood.

"Carrie, its the truth. I am not your biological father. Yusuke looks the way he does because he is a demon. They age much more slowly then humans do."

I turned and walked away a few steps. My eyes darted over the carriage and to Jin's face. He didn't look at me. Touya was by his side. He did look and his face showed nothing. It was as if we were talking about the weather. The fight and anger went out of me in a rush and I felt truly alone. My father had lied to me. Jin didn't want anything to do with me. And Touya didn't seem to give a rats ass. I am not proud to admit what happened next. I wish it hadn't. I like to think I'm stronger than that.

I passed out.

…

End chapter 7

DUN! DUN! DUNNNNNNNNNN!

I know this chapter was short for me, but I think the situation called for one. We'll all be back soon.


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Please support the official release.

Chapter 8

When I was young

I woke to my father stroking my hair like he used to when I was small. I leaned my head into the touch and opened my eyes. I shrank back when I saw red hair and green eyes. Those eyes filled with pain. It took me a moment to remember that my father had changed. I leaned back into his hand and felt comforted again.

"Good morning, star shine. The earth says hello. You twinkle above us, we twinkle below." His singing voice was slightly different, but the cultured tone and how he shaped the words were the same. I hummed the chorus with him. They were nothing but sounds anyway. No meaning to the words in the original song. He broke into a smile when we finished, and I couldn't help but smile with him.

"Daddy." I said.

My father put a finger to my lips and shook his head. "I was, once. But no more. My name is Kurama."

It felt like I had been stabbed in the chest. My breathing hitched and I felt tears brimming behind my eyes. I widened them to keep them from spilling down my cheeks. But it was in vain, I was laying on my back and gravity pulled the traitorous drops of water from my eyes.

"No. Please don't say that." I whispered. "You raised me, as far as I'm concerned **you are** my dad."

Relief made his face shine like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. I could tell that he had been afraid. Afraid that I would have rejected him. He leaned down and hugged me. I held him as tight as I could and didn't let go, even when he made a small motion to rise. He relaxed into my hug for a moment longer.

"Carrie. There is something I have to tell you. Something I should have told you a long time ago." He said.

I let him up but didn't let go. I held onto his hand like it was the last solid thing in the world. My dad rubbed his thumbs in soothing circles on the back of my hand.

"I'm not sure how to start, but I guess the best place is at the beginning. My name is Youko Kurama."

I listened as he talked. He told me about how he used to be a great thief. How he was overconfident and made a mistake, how that mistake led to his demise. However, he was able to save himself by merging his soul with that of an unborn child. He had chosen to live as a human for 10 years. In that time his spirit self would have time to recover and he would slowly regain his demonic powers. As he grew older, he realized that he had turned into a kept human. He told of his discomfort when he, a great youkai thief, realized that he had turned into a weak, spineless human. At eight he decided to start breaking ties with his mother and become independent. He told of the night grandma had gotten her scars, cutting herself to pieces trying to save her only son from a bed of broken glass. He explained how he had been blown away by her actions, no one had ever done anything like that for him before. That experience had opened his eyes, made him realize what he had been missing, not only the past eight years, but all of his life. That experience was love. She had taught him to love, to care, to open himself in ways he had never thought possible.

When she got sick a few years later, he had felt fear. A fear so strong that it drove him to contact a demon named Hiei. He used Hiei, as much as Hiei used him, to get an object called for forlorn hope. He was willing to do something that he would never done fifteen years prior. Something that he would have seen as weakness beyond measure, something he had seen as a flaw in others and had thoroughly exploited time and again. He was going to save the life of another. Even if saving that life cost him his own.

However, he had been discovered. A spirit detective, her biological father Yusuke, had found him. So rather than wait for the detective to hunt him down, he had gone to him and begged for time. Yusuke had granted it, giving him enough time to make his wish. He had been prepared for death. Ready and willing for the human he had deceived, hated, then learned to love, to have a life of her own. His wish was granted, death was coming. But, to his utter surprise, death passed him by as Yusuke jumped in. Yusuke threw in his life-force and started berating him for being stupid. How could he, who claimed to love his mother above all else, torment her with the death of her son. That would be a life of constant agony, no life worth living. At Yusuke's and his own willingness to sacrifice themselves for others, the forlorn hope took pity upon them and spared both of their lives.

From that time on, he had been by Yusuke's side. They had formed a group with Hiei—the master of the Jagon eye, and lord to the dragon of the darkness flame, Yusuke—head spirit detective, Kuwabara—Yusuke's life long friend and lover of justice, and himself—the strategist and keeper of the peace (mostly for Hiei).

He explained how their unlikely group had become detectives for the human race, their champions. Protecting them from threats of all kinds. Their bond as a team only grew stronger as they entered the dark tournament. This was where they had met Jin and Touya. Yusuke had faced his darkest foe, the Toguro brothers, and came out on top. It was there that the group had witnessed the death of their master, Genkai. Then he explained the groups joy at her revival and how she had lived for a few more years longer.

Her father's voice went dark as he told about the demented spirit detective, Sensui, and his plot to destroy the human world. He told of how hard it was for them to finally destroy him. How it had cost Yusuke's life and his job as spirit world's champion. He told of Yusuke's awakened mazoku powers and how he had tracked down his ancestor, Raizen. Raizen had decided to take Yusuke on as his heir, training him to become powerful enough to hold the old power structure in place.

He told her about his own invitation to demon world. How he had been forced to work for his former thieving buddy, Yomi. Yomi had threatened his family and was very capable to carry out that threat. Her father agreed to become his second, boosting Yomi's powers. Though the blood between them was bad, Yomi had forgiven him, though never forgotten. Even to this day, things were held in an uneasy truce.

When Raizen finally died. Things were poised for a bloody civil war to decide the ruler of demon world. Yusuke, however, had completely destroyed those plans when he came up with a demonic tournament that was to be held once every four years to decide the ruler. He had played on the blood lust and forgotten glory of both Yomi and the third demon king, a woman by the name of Mukuro (who had taken Hiei as her second).

The battle was fought and a demon by the name of Enki had won. He was declared king and decreed that all mischief was to stop in human world. He also appointed that the losers of the tournament were to act as border guards to make sure that any humans who accidentally got lost could be returned home.

The fighting over and piece restored, they were free to go home. Yomi and Mukuro had both lost their taste for blood and wanted to relive a nomadic lifestyle. Hiei, Yusuke, and her father were able to return to human world, though they did go back and forth to keep up their jobs as border guards. During Enki's first year of king, Yusuke finished up his training and returned home to Keiko. He set up shop as a private detective specializing in supernatural cases. He also worked as a ramen man on the side (and out of the same shop).

Due to his aloofness and inability to show love, Yusuke almost lost Keiko to another man. Things were hard then and her father had to step in to help Yusuke by giving advice. Yusuke, in an unheard of act of bravery and love, managed to win back his lady after months of goading and pressuring. They were wed three years into Enki's 4 year reign.

Things did not go well for Yusuke long, her father continued with a heavy heart. It seemed that from the moment Enki became king, a faction of demons grew angry. Though the demons weren't strong, there were enough of them to start a riot, then a movement. Enki and his men beat them back every time. Enki had been warned time and again to enforce his laws better and to crush the rebellion before it got out of hand. Enki refused, claiming that they had a right to be dissatisfied and to show that dissatisfaction.

That kindness was his undoing. Enki was murdered when a new leader took control and turned the angry mob into a well organized force. Yusuke, himself, and Hiei rushed back to demon world to reclaim the peace. The fight was bloody and allies were so fractured that setting up the tournament rule again was beyond hope. Yomi and Mukuro had entertained the idea of becoming leaders again, but having tasted true freedom neither wanted the job. Yusuke didn't want the job either, but his hands were tied. Either he become king or the unknown leader of the rebels would. It was very clear that the rebel's goal was to assimilate human world with the demon world and bring it under their control. Humans would have been easy prey and annihilated. Yusuke took the job, retaining Yomi and Mukuro as advisers. (Even though they expressed that they didn't want the job, the couldn't keep their fingers out of the honey pot and more than jumped at the chance to rule behind the scenes.)

Keiko surprised Yusuke by moving with him into demon world. That move was mostly spurred by a surprise pregnancy. Yusuke, in an almost unheard of fashion, doted on Keiko. He built the palace where they were now as a home for her and their new baby. The pregnancy went smoothly and Keiko gave birth to a healthy baby girl. The politics, however, did not go as smooth. The rebels, knowing Yusuke was preoccupied with his wife, chose that time to act.

They attacked days after the birth. Their leader, who finally stepped out into the open, was a woman who called herself Tempest. She was an elemental demon whose control happened to be weather. She was powerful, more so than anyone had realized. Somehow she had managed to get past Yusuke's defense and into the castle. She found Keiko and killed her. Yusuke did his best to get there in time, but never made it. His wife was gone and his daughter was in danger.

In utter rage Yusuke tried to fight, however Tempest used his daughter as a shield. She managed to escape by trading the girl for her life. It was then that Yusuke realized that he wasn't able to protect his family and be king. His choices were take his daughter to human world, only to have the rebels invade, or give his daughter to another to raise. The choice was hard on Yusuke. But in the end he gave up his daughter to Kurama and told him to raise her and keep her safe, like he was unable to.

"And so, I took the job." Her father finished. "When I took you home with me I never intended to become attached to you. I knew that one day you and your father would have to meet and we would part. My careful plans though, were undone as I came to know you. I never realized how much I would grow to love you. I had never taken care of a child before, and I didn't understand the emotional bond that goes with one. You needed me. You loved me unconditionally, like my mother. I had the power to make you laugh, cry, live, or die. And though you are not my flesh and blood, I love you like you are my daughter." He looked away when he was done, unable to meet my eyes.

Suddenly fear ate at my heart. If they killed my mother, and had tried to kill me...

"D...Did they kill grandma too?" I asked, voice choked.

My dad looked up at me. "No, and don't ever even entertain the idea that it could have been your fault. Grandma died of natural causes. A sudden heart attack while she was out shopping."

"I remember that day..." I whispered.

My father kissed my forehead. "As do I, dear one. She was an elegant lady who will be sadly missed."

"Did she know about you, about us?" I asked.

My father smiled bitterly. "I tried to keep my demonic business away from her to keep her safe. One day while babysitting you, the rebels found her. Luckily for me, Hiei was nearby and saved you two. That was a very awkward day, and the first that my mother had ever slapped and kissed me within moments of each other. 'Don't you ever keep something like that from your mother, Suichi!' she had said. 'I'll love you no matter what form you are, you are my beloved son.' It wasn't long after that I changed your name to Carrie and moved the three of us to America."

"How come you never told me?" I asked.

My father flinched at that question. Apparently he had been dreading that one. "The less you knew about all of this, the safer you would be. I was hoping that you could have gotten through collage before anything like this happened. You hadn't shown signs of any demonic or spiritual powers. Without those to protect you, I'm afraid that knowing the truth would be useless. As a human, your body would wither and die here in demon world. The vary air is toxic to pure human flesh."

"Well...I'm not dead yet." I said. "And, wouldn't I have died when I was a baby if I was pure human? What about my mother, why didn't she die? She was human, wasn't she?"

My father smiled. "Ah, good question. You and your mother didn't die because of your father." Daddy laughed at my confused expression. "Demons naturally purify the air they breathe with their own powers. When Yusuke marked your mother, he put a piece of himself into her—so to speak. Its complicated and I'll tell you more when your older-"

"Dad, I'm not five. I know how sex works." I interjected.

"Ugh. Its not sex...okay...maybe...it is a little. You see, when mommies and daddies love each other **very** much they do something called marking. Carrie, don't look at me like that. Anyway, demons live a life of constant struggle, never knowing who to trust. We use marking as a way to show trust. When one is marked, they insert their power into their partner. It is given in grate confidence, a way to solidify a pair. Once this type of mark is given it cannot be undone. They become a mated pair for life. It is the most intimate thing one can do. It is a sharing of souls and merging of power. There are different levels of marking, of course. Some are not permanent. Anyway, when your father marked your mother, he put a piece of himself inside her. That piece protected her and purified the air she breathed. Keeping her, and through her, you, safe."

"Can Yusuke ever mark anyone again?" I asked.

"Once a partner had died, the mark on the surviving demon fades. But when one has been wedded to another for so long...to share themselves that closely with another is hard. But it can be done." He said.

"Sounds like marriage." I whispered.

My dad poked me in the nose. "Marriage is nothing to being marked. Marriage can be easily broken, these ties are truly 'til death do you part. The mark is so special that many demons never attempt it. I never did. I do not share my power, not with anyone."

"Aww...Not even with me?" I asked jokingly.

My father gave me a look that was answer enough. He surprised me, though by saying "If it would save your life, then yes."

"Daddy, that's the sweetest thing you ever said to me." I grinned.

"Don't push it, darling." He said.

I grew more serious. "Dad...will I be going home with you?"

My dad bit his lips, green eyes growing sad. "No. You need to know your father. I've kept you apart for too long. However, you can come and visit me."

I threw my arms around his neck. "DON'T LEAVE ME! I DON'T WANT TO STAY HERE! I WANNA GO HOME!" I felt my throat grow tight.

"Shh, Darling. I'm not leaving you." He peeled my arms from his neck and stroked my hair. "You know that I love you. I would never leave you. But it wasn't right of me to hide you away from your real father. You need to get to know him. Promise me you will give him a chance. He has waited a long time to see you."

I nodded. "Yes, daddy. I promise."

"That's my big girl. Shall we go get some dinner? I think it will be served soon."

It was then I realized that we had been talking for hours. My dad got up and opened a paper door, my room was overlooking a beautiful little garden complete with a pond. My dad caught me staring. This was the first time I had seen anything that even vaguely reminded me of home. If I hadn't known better, I'd say that those flowers out there were daffodils, irises, shrubs, maple trees, grass, butterfly plants, tulips, daises, and pansies. There was even a rose bush out there. It looked so...human.

"Yusuke had this made for your mother. Keiko was so upset that Demon world didn't have any good grass or parks. Many of these flowers were from me, I took the liberty to enhance a few human flowers so that they could survive here. Your mother did love her daffodils."

I got up and walked over to my dad. I had to hand it to Touya, the under kimono that he tied was still going strong. I took my dad's hand and followed him out the door and into the night air. Somewhere on the breeze I could smell really good Teriyaki.

…

End Chapter 7

Kurama had a lot of explaining to do. I hope that I kept it interesting and as un-confusing as possible. He was telling it from his point of view, which I thought was fun...though long winded. Sorry for the recap, but blame Carrie. She didn't know anything about the past and Kurama had to catch her up to speed.

Yes I know I left out rescuing Yukina. But Carrie isn't supposed to know about Hiei's secret. Maybe she'll learn about it later, or maybe she won't. We'll have to play it by ear for that.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll have more very, very soon


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Dinner was already in full swing by the time dad and I arrived. Yusuke was sitting at the head of the table. Jin to his right, Touya beside Jin. There were other people there that I had never seen before. The conversation abruptly stopped while dad took a seat on one side of the low table next to a man with striking red eyes. He motioned me to take the empty seat to the left of Yusuke. I sat down and the conversation slowly started again.

"Wow." I whispered, completely caught off guard at the guy sitting next to me. He had six ears and seven horns decorating his head. He turned to me and smiled. He never opened his eyes though. I looked away and felt a blush rise to my cheeks. I instead focused my attention to a boy who looked about 13 across the way. Kids were nice. I liked kids. I waved hi and smiled. The kid waved back.

"That is my son, Shura." The guy beside me said.

"Oh. Looks like a nice kid." I said.

The father smiled. "He is. You are Carrie, are you not?"

"Ya, nice to meet you. Who are you, by the way?" I asked.

"Yomi." He said.

I nodded, then realized this was the guy who blackmailed my dad. I felt my heart go up into my throat.

"I see Kurama told you about me? Our history together." He said.

"He did." I said.

"I bear no grudge against him. Looking back I realize that, had our roles been reversed, I would have done the same to him. It looks like your father is getting impatient to talk to you. Excuse me." Yomi turned and started talking to a woman at his right.

At first I thought he meant my daddy, but he was busy taking to that red eyed guy. I realized he meant Yusuke. I turned and saw that he was looking at me, a mix of pain and something else set his face in a grim line.

"So...Carrie. How have you been?" He asked. His face crumpled and he muttered something under his breath.

I realized that he didn't know how to talk to me. He obviously wanted to get to know me but didn't seem to know how. My heart went out to the guy and the anger I felt earlier in the day seemed stupid. He had done what he could for my mom and me. When dad took the trouble to explain what marking meant and that Yusuke shared something that private and special with mom...a girl had to respect that.

"I've been good." I found myself as tongue tied as he was and a little nervous.

The conversation shriveled up and died between us. Yusuke looked like he wanted to say more, but didn't know how. I suddenly had an idea.

"So. Could you tell me what mom was like?"

Yusuke's face lit up and the first true grin I had ever seen spread itself across his face. He looked younger with that face. He reached a hand up and placed it on the junction between his neck and shoulder. It looked like a nervous habit.

"I have a picture of her. Wanna see?" He asked.

I had never seen my mother before. I scooted over to Yusuke's side as he reached into a back pocket and pulled out a wallet. Inside was a little picture, the kind people usually get at photo booths at the fair. It showed a nervous Yusuke and a very happy woman with her arms wrapped around his neck. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling from ear to ear. The picture was black and white.

"That's your mom. We didn't have much money so I took her to the carnival on our honeymoon. I felt bad that I couldn't afford anything better for her. But she said that it was the best time of her life."

I studied the woman's face, drank in every line, every detail. I had fantasized about seeing this woman all of my life. Yusuke was right. I did look like her, except I had his hair and nose.

"What color was her hair?" I asked.

"Brown, and she had hazel eyes. They used to change color with her moods." His voice died away for a moment then he looked up at me. "You have her eyes."

"What was she like?" I asked.

Yusuke closed his eyes and it was if he could see her sitting next to him. He told me about her moods, how she was more happy than sad once they were married. He told me about her iron will and her killer open handed slaps. He told me about her laugh, her smile, what her dreams had been. He told me that her favorite color was blue and that she had worn a white wedding gown with a blue sash on their wedding day. About how, for their wedding, she had painstakingly taken over one hundred white carnations and let them soak up a mixture of water and blue food coloring so that they would turn blue. How she had used them to decorate the isle, he had worn one in his tuxedo's button hole. He told me how happy she was to be a mom. How she had decorated my nursery and forced him to help, though he was always more interested then he let on. He told me of her utter joy the day I was born. How she had cried tears of joy. How they had spent hours laying in bed together, just holding me between them. Yusuke's voice grew thick when he told me about her death. The last thing she had said to him was to beg him not to go, and him telling her that he had to. 'If you die, Yusuke. I'll kill you.' He had said nothing back, just smiled and left.

"That was the last thing she ever said to me." Yusuke said. "I was so stupid. I should have told her I loved her. It never crossed my mind that this was it. That would be the last time I saw her."

"She knew you loved her." I said and pointed to the picture. "She wouldn't have married you otherwise."

Yusuke grabbed my hand and held it between his own. His hands were like Jin's, rough. They weren't as big though. But they were strong. I could feel their potential, but they held mine so gently.

"I love you, too. Loosing your mom that day...I knew I couldn't loose you too. That's why I let Kurama take you. I wanted you to have something I couldn't give. You needed to grow up in a place that wasn't all death and destruction. You needed the life your mom should have had..." His voice trailed off because I don't think he could have continued.

I reached out with my free hand and placed it on his shoulder. "Thanks. You gave me a really great dad."

Yusuke squeezed my hand and smiled. Suddenly he broke out laughing and grabbed his cup off the table. "Alright, enough of this mushy crap! Lets party!"

A door slid open and some serving girls walked in. I could smell alcohol they walked around the table. A girl, who had big liquid eyes and had the tail of a monkey, came over to me and was about to pour me a glass.

"No, thank you." I said quickly.

Yusuke looked up. "Aw, c'mon. This is a party."

"I don't drink. Besides, I'm underage." I said.

Yusuke looked up and waved the serving girl to pour me a drink. She obeyed and the quickly scuttled off to serve someone else. I don't think she was trying to, but she looked relieved that she wasn't waiting on us anymore.

"Hey, I'm the king and I just said the drinking age is twelve. Live a little." Yusuke joked with a wink.

"YEA!" Shura said and lifted his cup.

"Shura, no." Yomi said and the kid put his cup back down with a dejected look.

I picked up the drink and I could smell the alcohol. I studied the cup, it looked like a little saucer. It had just enough dip in the middle to hold one shot of liqueur. I took a small sip and immediately swallowed so I wouldn't spit it back out. A sour look spread across my face.

"Oh, my god!" I sputtered. "What the heck is this, battery acid?"

Yusuke slapped me on the back and I spilled the rest of the drink.

"No, we only save that for special occasions."

A different woman was back and she poured me another drink before I could say 'no thank you'. I grimaced and looked at the drink in my hand.

"What are you, chicken?" Yusuke asked.

I looked at him. I was about to tell him he was a bad parent for encouraging me to drink, but stopped myself. He had given up a lot and was trying to make up for it now. I couldn't crush him by pointing fingers at his parenting skills. Even I wasn't that mean. Instead I bit back the retort and studied the drink in my hand. What would be the best way to not burn out my esophagus? Slow and steady sips or just knock it back? I decided that this problem was kind of like a band-aid. Rip it off all at once and it hurt less then going inch by sticky inch.

I breathed out and tossed the drink back. It burned all the way down and I coughed. Oh my god! This stuff was vile. Though, it was a little better then the first one. I don't know how, but my cup was full again. Yusuke smiled and chugged his own drink down. There was a glint in his eye, a sort of challenge. It irked me. Even though it was against my better judgment I drank this one too. The burning wasn't as bad and it did taste a little better.

By the time I had my fourth, or was it my fifth? I decided to call it quits. I did not want to be drunk. I felt a little light headed and that nagging little voice inside me said 'if you didn't want to be drunk, you should have stopped a while ago...'. I put my cup down. Instead I tried to catch Jin's eye. He was determined not to talk to me. He ended my advances by getting up and walking away to talk to some loud guy with a blue mo-hock.

I watched him go and felt my heart sink. Tears bit at the corners of my eyes when I heard him laugh. I hadn't heard that for a while now. I missed his smile and the way he used to hum with me. I missed how he used to hold me at night. I looked at Jin again and caught him flirting with one of the serving girls. My heart stopped. The girl blushed and hid it behind a sleeve. Jin took the tray from her hand and pulled her down to sit with him. I looked away. I couldn't watch that.

For some odd reason I felt betrayed. It wasn't like Jin asked me to be his girlfriend. Maybe I had read more into what had passed between us then there really was? Did I have the right to feel possessive of him? I mean, he was his own person. My eyes turned traitor and looked his way again. He kissed the blushing bar maid. I wanted to throw up. Instead I lifted up my glass and chugged it when it was filled. The burning in my throat felt better then the hole in my heart.

I don't know how many glasses it was later when I couldn't stand it anymore and had to look at Jin again. He was gone. I looked around the room and saw that the girl he had been flirting with was gone too. I felt sick and bile ate my throat. I think I was gonna puke. I swallowed and put down my empty cup.

"Yusuke, where's the bathroom?" I asked.

He laughed. "Drink too much?"

"Yea." I lied. I couldn't tell him that my biggest problem was a broken heart.

"C'mon." He said and got to his feet. I took the hand he offered, the world swam and I leaned into him. Together we staggered off to the rest room.

…

I was really happy that there were toilets. I even got to know one very well. Yusuke held my hair back and I tossed my cookies. I hadn't eaten anything and all I really got out was water, and maybe one of my socks. I got away from the toilet and leaned my head back against the wall.

"Feel better?" Yusuke asked and flushed the thing.

"Yea. Thanks for doing that." I said.

Yusuke grinned. "Hey, what are dad's for?"

I grinned back at him. "I thought parents weren't supposed to let their kids drink."

Yusuke shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a cool dad."

I closed my eyes and nodded.

"Ya gonna be okay?" He asked.

"Yup." I said.

"You wanna tell me whats going on between you and Jin?" Yusuke asked.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. "What?"

Yusuke sat down across from me and put his hands on his knees. "You put up this fight about how you don't drink, then when Jin leaves, you drink like a fish. Something doesn't add up."

I closed my eyes again and sighed. "I think I like him."

I could feel when he moved and sat next to me. "And you saw him flirting with that girl."

I nodded.

"Jin's like that. He teases, but I've never really seen him do anything."

"I don't know why he's mad at me." I blurted. "He's been that way since he woke up. H-he won't even talk to me. Touya said he would come around, but he hasn't yet. I don't know what to do."

Yusuke put an arm around my shoulder and I leaned in to him. "If that's what Touya said, then that's what he'll do."

I looked up at Yusuke. "I hope so. The last thing I ever said to him was that I was raped. That's not how I want him to remember me."

Yusuke's arm went stiff behind my shoulder. "What did you say?"

I gasped. "You don't think that's why he's mad at me, do you?"

Yusuke tightened his arms around me and pulled me into his lap. "No, no I don't think so. Who hurt you?"

I wrapped my arms around Yusuke's neck and buried my eyes against his neck. "I don't wanna talk about that."

"Okay." He said.

"You know...you're not such a bad dad." I said.

He was quiet for a long time. "Thanks."

…

End chapter 9

Thanks for reading. See y'all later.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Everybody was Kung-fu Fighting!

I groaned and threw my hands over my eyes. The light was too bright. The motion was too fast and I gagged. My head tried to explode. I grimaced and tried to hold still. It felt like somebody had thrown a bunch of rocks into a tube sock and was beating me about the head.

"Too much to drink, huh?" A soothing voice said.

I squinted under my hands and saw my daddy standing there, red hair glowing in the early morning sun.

"Oh god...I will never drink again." I hissed. Even speaking hurt.

I felt him sit on the bed. His hand went to my forehead and it was cool. It made me feel better.

"Here, drink this." He pushed something into my hands.

My stomach flip-flopped and I didn't think I could hold it down. "I don't know if that's a good idea." I whispered.

"It will help with the hang over. When you're feeling better, you need to see a healer."

I took the drink from him. If he said it would help, I was not gonna argue. I drank it down and ignored the bitter taste. It felt like forever, but I slowly felt the pain go away. When I felt about as normal as I was going to get I smiled at my dad.

"Yusuke told me about what happened to you."

I looked down at my hands suddenly unable to meet his gaze.

"What did he tell you?" I asked.

"Everything."

"Dad. I'm sorry." I said.

Dad smoothed back my hair and sighed. "Its not your fault. Now, I want you to think back to the demon who hurt you. What did he look like, smell like? Anything you can think of."

"It wasn't just one." I felt shame burn my cheeks and I almost couldn't speak. "I lost count...I don't wanna remember."

"Its alright, darling. But I need to know. Do you remember any names?"

I looked past my dad and out into my mother's garden. I absently wondered how I had gotten back here. I took a deep breath and started to count the daises. I got to six before my dad squeezed my hands. I looked back at him and tried to smile. He didn't smile back, instead he pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back and looked at the wall.

I turned from hugging my dad to holding onto him as my own screams echoed in my ears. "Please don't make me talk about it, daddy. I don't want to see it again. It hurts. Oh god, it hurts." I whimpered and buried my eyes in his shoulder.

My dad rocked back and forth as I cried into his shoulder. I cried as if my heart would break. I cried out my anger, my hate, my fear, and my weakness. I cried because, for the first time in days, I had the time to grieve what happened. When I had been traveling, we were constantly moving from one obstacle to the next. There was no time to think, no time to worry about myself. I didn't have to pretend to be strong anymore. Here with my daddy, I could cry and not feel shame.

He held me until I couldn't cry any more. I felt hollow. "I wasn't fast enough." I whispered. "I just wasn't fast enough."

Dad didn't say anything. He just let me babble. The story that I had been so admit about not telling before came tumbling out of my numb lips. I told him about it without looking at him. How they told me to run and how I wasn't fast enough. When I was caught I told him how I froze like some worthless idiot. I should have fought, done something. But I hadn't. I had let them rape me. It wasn't just one. It was all of them. They passed me around like cheap beer. Everybody got a taste.

"After a while the faces bled together. I closed my eyes and just took it like a wimp. I didn't want to see, I didn't want to know. I just wanted it to be over." I whispered.

"Carrie, you are not weak. If you had fought they probably would have killed you." Dad said.

I looked at him for the first time since I started my story. "I wish they had."

My dad pushed me away from him and snarled in my face. "Don't you **ever** say anything like that again! Strength is not based on how hard you fight, its based on how much you can take and still keep going. Death is the easy way out, living is whats hard."

I closed my eyes and shook my head. I didn't tell him that I tried to kill myself.

Dad held me to him again, and I held him back. I pushed the awfulness away. I shoved it back into the dark hole inside me where it had been hiding for the past few days. It could stay there and rot. I didn't want to look at it, didn't want to hear it. I could still feel the hurt and almost gibbering panic buried deep inside, but it didn't affect me as much now that I had it hidden. It almost felt like being excited, the kind you felt on the first day of school or the night before you go on a field trip and can't sleep. But there was nothing quite so pleasant attached to this feeling, and if you were to explore it slightly you would find an underlying spring of panic and dread.

…

I got dressed in my old (freshly washed) gym uniform and my dad took me to a healer. Thank god it was a she. Her name was Tsubaki. She was a wizened little thing that was only about as tall as my hips. She had an air of importance about her, but she was very kind. Her hands were strong despite her aged and frail appearance. I'm glad to say that she was able to fix my hip. Though she told me that I was over flexible and that unless I strengthened my stomach muscles, I would re-injure myself.

It was too soon to tell if I was pregnant. Tusbaki assured me that it was a very slight chance with my mixed blood. But, the chance was there. She laughed at me when I had a sudden horrible thought about giving birth to an egg. She put me at ease by saying that I would most likely carry a baby like a human one. Though, with my luck, I just might start laying eggs. She let me go and instructed me to take it easy and to pay attention to my body.

I was surprised to find both my dads sitting out in the hallway waiting for me. I made a mental note that I was going to have to start labeling them. I couldn't call them both daddy. Maybe dad could be daddy, and Yusuke could be dad? Yusuke (was it too soon to call him dad?) stood up.

"What did she say?" He asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yea. I'm fine...dad" I said.

Yusuke smiled and put his hands behind his head.

I suddenly felt awkward and looked passed Yusuke to my (oh boy this was gonna get confusing) dad. "Um. Daddy, can I go for a walk?"

Daddy smiled. "Sure, Yusuke and I have business to attend to anyway. This place is large, if you get lost ask a servant to get you back to your room."

I saluted my dads and left.

It felt good to be in my old cloths. I had a lot more freedom of movement then I did in that kimono. I let my bare feet take me wherever. It wasn't long before I was completely lost. I walked down a long corridor. I followed it until it ended in a door. I opened the door and it gave me a view of a long porch that lead off into another garden. I smiled and stepped out. The fresh air felt great. I saw a little bridge in the distance and I made my way towards it, following the deck. The wood was warm under my feet and the air buzzed with a lazy summer heat.

When I got to the bridge I noticed something odd. The little stream that flowed under it was frozen completely solid. I knelt down and touched it with my fingers. It was cold and solid as a rock.

"Neat-o." I said.

I let my eyes follow the stream, just to see how far it went. Off a little ways away there was honest to god snow. I raised an eyebrow. Snow on a summer's day? Cool. I laughed and jumped of the bridge. The ground was soft and covered in something like a mix between moss and grass. Flowers poked their artful heads over the ground cover. They were like nothing I had ever seen before. The reminded me of something I saw in a Dr. Seuss book once.

I got to the snow and put my hands in it. It was perfect. It was that light powdery stuff that snowboarders loved. I scooped some up and patted it into a ball. My hands were freezing and the rest of me was probably sun burning. What a lovely combination. I put my ball on the ground and gave it a little push. The snow packed together like a dream, leaving a bare hole where it stuck together. I gave my ball another push and it lumbered forward. I was surprised to find that it picked up all of the snow underneath, leaving a nice little patch of grass in its wake. I pushed my ball again and walked after it, enjoying the cool grass against my hot feet. I didn't stop until I had a good sized ball going.

I rubbed my hands together and started on the second ball. It wasn't long before I had one slightly smaller then the first big ball. I picked it up and put it atop my first one. I made a third and stacked it atop the first two, humming the song 'frosty the snow man' under my breath. When I had the body done I hunted around and found two sticks. One arm was a lot bigger then the other one, but there was not much I could do about that. I took my hand and poked in two eye holes and a bunch of holes curved into a smile for a mouth.

"I think I'll call you Charlie." I said with a smile.

"What **are** you doing?"

I jumped and looked behind my snowman. Touya was standing there, arms crossed.

"Hi." I said and waved. "Touya, this is Charlie. Charlie, Touya."

"That thing isn't alive, you know." Touya said.

"Touya! You'll hurt his feelings." I said and patted Charlie's shoulder.

Touya shook his head. He walked over and looked at Charlie from the front. It was then I noticed that he was walking on top of the snow. He didn't even leave footprints.

"What is this...Charlie?" Touya asked.

"A snow man. Haven't you ever made one before?" I asked.

Touya had the grace to not look offended. "No."

I let my jaw drop. "Touya. You have not lived."

Touya reached out and gently touched one of Charlies arms.

"You wanna make one?" I asked.

I thought he was going to say no, but he surprised me by nodding his head. "Show me."

"They are really easy. All you have to do is make a ball, here I'll get one started for you." I said and made a snowball. I pushed it on the ground until I got it started. I stepped back and was going to give it to Touya when I saw him sitting on top of one already. I don't know how he made it that fast.

"Cheater." I grumbled.

Touya laughed and made another materialize out of thin air. He set it on top of the first, followed by a third. His was a lot larger then Charlie.

"What's next?" Touya asked.

"Well, I usually use sticks and rocks for the face and arms." I looked around.

"Will ice do?" Touya asked.

"Sure." I said.

I watched as Touya pushed his hand into the snowman's torso. As he pulled his hand back out, ice flowed from the hole into something that resembled a tree branch. Touya did it to the other side. He moved to the face and cocked his head to the side. After a moment he breathed into his hand and started sticking ice cubes into the head for eyes and a mouth.

"Wow." I whispered.

Touya turned to me when he was done and leaned back against the snowman. He looked very happy with himself.

"What are you going to name him?" I asked.

Touya shrugged. "I'm not good making up names."

I close my eyes for a moment. "Fred. We have Charlie and Fred."

"Does it really need a name?" He asked.

I nodded. "Of course he does. All good snowmen need a name."

Touya turned back to the snowman and studied his handiwork. All considered, it was a very nice one. Not bad for his first try. Oh hell, he made mine look like it was made by demented kindergartners. But he was an ice master, maybe it went with the territory. Touya walked up to the mouth and started fidgeting with the mouth pieces. I guess he needed them to be perfect.

I walked through the grass and picked up the little ball I had gotten started. I smiled to myself. I knew it wasn't gonna make it, he was a ninja after all but...well, a girl's gotta try. I turned and threw my snowball.

Smack!

I gasped and then laughed when the snowball actually hit Touya in the back. He turned and looked at me, the look only made me laugh harder. It was a mix between disbelief and surprise.

"Oh my god! You should have seen your face! I didn't even think I would hit you." I gasped out between giggles. "Some ninja **you** are!"

My giggles subsided slightly when I saw him materialize a snowball in his hand. It suddenly hit me that starting a snowball fight with an ice master was probably not the best idea I ever had.

"Oh sh-" I turned my body away and raised my arms up to protect my face when the snowball was launched at me. I got hit.

"No cheating Touya, if your gonna play you have to make snowballs like normal people!" I hollered.

"All's fair in love and war." Touya quoted, another materializing in his hand.

I ran. Touya threw it at me and struck again. On the fly I scooped up more snow and shaped it into a ball. I spun and found Touya was gone. I slowed to a stop and looked all around me. Touya was nowhere to be found, it was like he disappeared into thin air. I started to get the feeling that my cheep shot was gonna cost me.

I caught a glint of white out of the corner of my eye. I raised my arm with just enough time to deflect a snowball lobbed at my head. Something in my gut told me to turn, I spun on my heel and threw my ball. I pegged Touya's after-image. The real Touya was already long gone.

"You weenie, get out here and fight like a man!" I shouted.

"I already am."

I gasped and turned around. Touya was standing behind me. He tossed a snowball at me and I caught it. With no hesitation I threw it right back at him, hitting him in the chest. Deep down I knew he let me get that shot in, but I felt good about it anyway. Touya made another snow ball.

I laughed and leaned down and started shoveling snow at him. He jumped back out of reach. So I just started picking up snow and throwing it at him not even bothering to turn it into round balls. Touya dodged my attacks easily. The game stopped being about us throwing snow at each other and me simply trying to hit him.

Suddenly Touya did something I wasn't prepared for. He ran right at me and reached out a hand to touch me. Without thinking I grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward slightly. He followed the momentum forward while I sidestepped and got behind him. I put my free hand on his lower back and pushed him away from me. I stepped backwards put my hands behind my back. I hadn't meant to do that. Touya righted himself and spun to face me.

I was about to say I was sorry when he came at me again. I didn't have time to think. He reached out to touch me again and I pushed his hand away. The game turned into something different. He tried to touch me, I tried to avoid it. It was almost like dancing. He moved and I followed. We spun and feigned, moved forwards and back. He tapped me on the shoulder, I tapped him on the waist. I ducked under his arm, he turned away. We moved faster. I was having a ball. Touya's touches went from taps to harder punches. It almost hurt when he landed a hit. I quickly learned that the best way to avoid his hand was to simply not be there.

I watched his body, they way he stepped forward with his right foot before throwing a punch. How he shifted his weight from the ball of one foot to the other as he moved. I watched how his eyes watched my body. I tensed my right arm and when his eyes shot to it I struck out with my left. I was rewarded by landing a light punch to his shoulder. His arm snaked out and grabbed my arm in a way that locked my joint. I was surprised by the action and lost my footing. I was on my stomach in the snow, my arm screaming in pain when he added pressure.

"Not bad. Who taught you how to fight?" He asked.

"Touya, your hurting me." I gasped.

"Oh." Touya eased back and let me go.

I struggled up to my knees and held my soar arm in front of me. "I've never fought before." I answered.

Touya turned his head to the side. "Instinct then. Though with your linage its not surprising."

I shook out my arm surprised that the pain went away so quickly. "What did you do to my arm? That hurt."

"Its a simple joint lock. Here let me show you."

I walked forward and gave him my arm. He grabbed my wrist and wrenched it behind my back at a ninety degree angle. My shoulder ached until he eased back. "Joints are delicate and they give you maximum pain for minimal effort." Touya let my arm go.

"Cool. Will you teach me that?" I asked.

Touya shrugged and grabbed my wrist again.

"Make your arm loose." He instructed.

I relaxed my arm. He moved it up and down letting it flop a little. "If you control the joints, you control the arm. The key is to overextend the joint and use the muscle against it." He locked my elbow and twisted my arm. I hissed out a breath, as he moved it behind me and put stress on my shoulder. "At this angle, it would be very easy for me to break both your elbow and shoulder in one move." He let go of my arm. "you try it."

I looked at Touya's arm as he held it out to me. I gently put my hand on his wrist. Suddenly I was on my butt in the snow with my arm locked behind my back.

"Do you think your opponent is simply going to stand still while you hurt him?" Touya asked.

I hissed out a breath and struggled. Touya put pressure on my arm and I had to stop. That hurt.

"Could you at least grab my other arm next time, this one is getting soar." I gritted.

Touya laughed. "Do you think your enemy cares for your comfort?"

He let go of my arm and I fell into the snow. I hissed out a breath as I moved my arm in front of me. My fingers tingled and I moved my hand to loose the feeling. I picked myself up. Touya stood as still as a statue. I cocked my head to the side and studied him. I wasn't really sure how to do the arm lock. Sure I had it done to me a few times, but I didn't want to hurt him.

"Too slow." Touya disappeared.

I took a step back, and bumped right into his chest. I gasped and looked up in time to see a hand come down. He bitch slapped me right back into the snow. My hand went up to my cheek, tears sprang into my eyes. My lips pulled back from my teeth in a grimace, that was not fair!

"Move Carrie!" Touya commanded.

A kick to my ribs sent me head-over-heels in the snow. I coughed and grabbed my midsection. I lay stunned for a moment. I saw Touya advance and I somehow got up onto my feet and backed away. He was gone. I suddenly felt afraid. This wasn't a game anymore. Touya was trying to hurt me. Fear sharpened my senses making everything seem sharper. I felt something to my right and I hit the dirt—er snow, narrowly avoiding a punch thrown at my chest. I rolled and missed a kick.

"Fight back Carrie." Touya said.

I crab-walked away from him and staggered back up to my feet. "I don't wanna hurt you!"

"Too bad I want to hurt you." Touya said.

My breath caught in my throat. Did he just admit that he wanted to hurt me? Suddenly Touya was in front of me. He punched me in my stomach. Pain erupted from the hit. My knees went out from under me and I collapsed onto his arm. I couldn't breathe. My gut heaved and I almost tossed my cookies. I ended up on all fours in the snow, arm clutched over my stomach. Touya took another step towards me and I flinched. He disappeared and suddenly the world was spinning. I rolled over and over in the snow. I could taste blood in my mouth. I spat it into the snow, turning it pink. I looked up in time to see Touya advancing from my left. I threw an arm up to protect my head while the other went out in front of me palm pointed at Touya, fingers spread.

I screamed as a bolt of bluish-white light erupted from my palm and launched itself in Touya's direction. It hit him in the chest and knocked him back. I scrambled to my feet, ignoring my watery legs and struggled through the snow. I ran back towards the house. Two arms wrapped themselves around my waist. I acted on instinct and dug my nails into the flesh and dragged them. Skin tore under my nails and blood welded up.

"Damn it, luv!" The arms let go.

I spun around to find Jin floating in the air looking at the blood that was welling out of deep scratches.

"Yeow! What are ya, part cat?" He shook his hands. "Touya whats goin on?"

Touya appeared next to Jin, he wasn't even scratched. "She asked me to teach her."

Jin looked back at me. I bit my lip. All I could see was him pulling that bar maid down and kissing her. I felt sick, and hurt, and angry. Tears that had nothing to do with the beating welled up in my eyes. I turned and ran away from them both. Touya had already wiped the floor with my butt, he did not need to see me cry. And I would be damned if I would cry in front of Jin. I could hear Jin call after me, but I didn't stop.

The last thing I heard before I climbed back up onto the bridge and escaped into the house was Jin asking Touya what was wrong with me?

...

End Chapter 9

Thanks for reading


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Big girls don't cry

The tears burned my throat and made my eyes feel hot. I growled under my breath and ducked around a corner. I was gonna loose it. But, thankfully, there was no one here to see me cry. I leaned back against a wall and let myself slide to the floor. My arm hurt, my gut felt like it was on fire, and what was worse was that my heart felt like it was missing. I let a few tears slide down my cheeks.

"Aww...Carrie, luv. Don do that."

I turned my face away and quickly wiped my eyes, so much for being alone. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Don cry, luv. I know Touya can be rough. A right tough fighter he is, but he never would-a really hurt ya." Jin said.

I gritted my teeth. "I am not crying."

Jin laughed at me. "Well, if this ain't cryin, I'd hate ta see it when ya are."

I turned to face him, a snarl on my lips. But it died, caught by the happiness of his smile. My heart broke in two and instead of the snappy retort I was going to give, a tear slipped out of the corner of my eye. Jin clicked his tongue at me and wiped it away with his thumb.

"He roughed ya up good. Yer nose is bleadin'."

My hand flew up to my nose and wiped it. It came away covered in semi dry blood. Jin reached into a pocket and took out a white handkerchief. He handed it to me and I pressed it to my nose.

"I thought Touya knew better then to hit a girl in the face. I know girls get sensitive about that kind-a thing." Jin said.

He thought I was crying because Touya hit me in the face? I closed my eyes and felt shame when two more tears fell down my cheeks. Jin wiped them away again. I didn't want him to touch or see me right then, but I couldn't seem to get myself to get up and move away.

"If ya want, I could rough him up a little." Jin offered and pounded a fist into his waiting palm.

I shook my head and lowered the handkerchief. My throat grew tight and I had to fight to get my next words out.

"Are you done being mad at me?"

The question caught Jin off guard and he put a hand behind his head and looked away.

"I was never mad at ya, luv." He said.

I sniffled and tried to hold back a tear in vain. "Y-you got a funny way of showing it."

Jin sighed and closed his eyes. "I...ooh. I was a wee bit nasty."

"A wee bit?" I asked.

Jin crossed his arms and a sour look came over his face. "Damn it." He looked at me and there was something in his eye. Anger or...was it fear. He looked down at his hands. "That mornin, when I woke up, Touya and I talked. He told me what happened. Yer lucky Touya was there or I would-a crushed you like a bug. Ya could-a screamed like banshee an' I still wouldn-a let go!"

"But you didn't." I said.

Jin pointed at me. "But I could-a."

"That night, you let me go." I said.

Jin looked away and stuck out his lip. "What if I hadn't?"

"Well, you did."

Jin sighed and put his head in his hands. "Ya, I let go that night. But what about the next time? What if I don't let ya go an hurt ya by accident. Carrie, I'm a lot stronger than you."

I punched him in the shoulder. "I'm a tough girl." I meant it as a joke.

Jin grabbed my hand and held it between his own. "No, yer not. Ya 'bout died tryin ta save me sorry arse. Ya walked yerself until ya collapsed. Touya wasn't even sure ya'd make it back to the inn."

I sat up straighter and wiped my nose with the handkerchief again. The bleeding had stopped. "I can take care of myself, mostly. Stop worrying about me."

Jin looked up and met my eyes with his blue ones. The look he gave me clearly said he didn't believe me. I looked away.

"Carrie, I don wanna hurt ya." Jin said.

He didn't want to hurt me? I suddenly saw him kissing that woman again. Anger and something very bitter ate at my insides. I pulled my hand back. Jin looked up at me with big blue eyes as I got to my feet.

"Ya. Fine, okay." I moved to step past him.

"Luv, don be mad at ol' Jin." Jin said.

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't cal me love. You don't love me."

Jin floated up so we were at eye level. It was an odd sensation.

"What are ya getting so uptight about." He asked.

I stepped around him. "I'm not uptight."

Jin lay down in the air and rested his head on his hand. "No? Then why are ya leavin?"

Rather than answer I started walking away. Jin kept up with me. When I walked faster and tried to go through a door he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. His feet hit the ground with a soft thunk and his hands locked themselves on my shoulders. He leaned down and looked me in the eye.

"Your mad at me."

I tried to shrug him off, but he didn't let go.

"Who was that girl?" I all but spit in his face.

Jin stepped back like I had slapped him. His face went from one of shock to smug. He gave me a toothy grin, giving me a good look at a very sharp eye tooth.

"Yer jealous. That is so cute." He said.

"I am not jealous." I hissed.

Jin rolled his eyes. "Ya, an ya werent cryin just a moment ago either."

I shrugged him off and shoved him in the chest.

"You jerk! What kind of man are you?"

"Carrie, luv. It was just a little slap an tickle. Nothin serious." Jin said.

I was so mad I saw stars. He just admitted to doing...well I didn't want to even think about it.

"Don't call me love!" I said.

"Carrie." Jin reached out and grabbed my arm.

I surprised him and myself when I reached out with my free hand and slapped him across the face.

"Don't touch me." I hissed and stormed off into the house.

Jin watched me go, surprise making his blue eyes even bigger.

…

Tears blurred my vision as I ran. That jerk. That stupid, low down, no good, two timing, jerk! He admitted to sleeping with that woman and he didn't even feel bad about it. Didn't even say he was sorry. Instead he laughed in my face like it was some kind of joke. That JERK!

I rounded a corner and crashed into somebody. I fell on my butt and looked up in surprise. He was balled save for a five o'clock shadow and a thick blue mo-hock that flowed down the center of his skull. It ended in a double split pony-tail that got lost in a white ruffle of fir around his neck. His eyes were the color of blue steel and he had a green line that traced itself across the lower part of his nose and ended under each eye.

"Was this?" He asked, voice heavily accented in Australian.

I wiped my eyes and got to my feet.

"Well, if it ain't Yusuke's little sheila?" He said.

I looked up at him. Nobody ever called me sheila before.

He threw back his head and laughed. "Rippah. The names Chu. Put her there."

He stuck out a beefy hand and I found myself shaking it. He had a good strong hand shake.

"Carrie." I said.

"What are you doin all the way on this side of the castle, Carrie? This here's for guests." He said.

"I got lost." I said.

Chu barked another short clip of laughter. He slapped me on the back hard enough to stagger me forward.

"That's alright. I was just about to go see your dad anyway. There's a meeting goin on about what ta do with Tempest. Taking you was the last straw. Yusuke wants to wipe her off the face of the Makai."

Chu put a hand on my shoulder and guided me in front of him.

"CHU! Wait up!"

We both looked behind us as a little boy of about 13 hopped out of a room and pulled on a sock. All three of us headed down the hallway.

"Shelia, this is Rinku." Chu jerked a thumb in the kids direction. "I told you ta hurry up. Were already late."

"Its not like Yusuke starts anything on time anyway." Rinku whined.

Rinku smiled and threw his hands behind his head. He had three stars under his right eye, at first I thought they were a tattoo, but the rich color and how well they complemented his skin made me doubt myself. There was no body art that good.

The kid looked me up and down, a goofy smile spreading itself across his face.

"Hi. I'm Rinku." He said.

"Carrie." I said.

"Hey, your Yusuke's daughter, aren't you?" He asked.

"Mm-hmm."

"Your prettier then I'd thought you'd be." Rinku said.

"Um...Thanks." I said.

"Watch out, sheila, he's a lady killer." Chu warned.

I laughed behind my hand as Rinku kicked Chu in the shin. Chu only laughed and threw the kid over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

…

"...that bitch has messed with me and my family for the last time." Yusuke's voice carried out into the hall.

"He never starts anything on time, eh?" Chu grunted at his little passenger.

A large bead of sweat traveled down Rinku's face. Chu slid open the paper door that separated us from the other room. Eyes swiveled in our direction and we were met with some disproving looks.

"Nice of you to finally make it." Yusuke grumped at us.

We all hurried over to some empty spots and sat down. Jin caught my eye as I took my seat. I quickly looked away from him and looked towards the head of the table. Yusuke took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead with his hand. I absently noticed that this was the dining room we were in last night.

"Okay. So what **do** we know about Tempest?" Yusuke said.

A wizened old demon with a cane stood up as the lights were dimmed and a screen came down from the ceiling. Gotta say I was impressed, Yusuke had a really nice mix of ancient charm and new-aged convenience going on. The screen came to life and up popped a very large diagram in the shape of a triangle. The triangle was composed of dots and lines. There were words, but they were all written in Japanese. It threw me for a loop. If everybody spoke English, why was the chart in Japanese?

"As you know, we have sent undercover operatives to infiltrate Tempest's organization. Those that haven't been killed, report that her power structure runs like our diagram. The largest part of her power structure consists of the rebels themselves. They are weak, low class demons who are expendable and never see the top of the pyramid. These low class demons usually receive their orders from someone above themselves. Who they get their orders from is unimportant. What is important are these three positions here." The demon tapped the diagram, using his cane as a pointer, and circled the top three dots on the pyramid. "These three slots are the brain of the power structure. Our sources indicate that one of these slots is owned by an unidentified male and is second only to Tempest herself. The other belongs to a female who is also unidentified. Unless we can eliminate all three the movement will not die. One of her seconds will simply step in her place."

"We must also be careful that their deaths do not become a martyr. Should that happen, for lack of better terminology, all hell will break loose. We will have a civil war on our hands." My daddy added. He didn't speak very loud, but he didn't have to. The weight of his words carried enough power to run a small city.

"Well, shit." Yusuke said.

Daddy turned his green eyes to me. "Ah, but what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. The fact that Tempest tried to kidnap Carrie and manipulate you instead of beating down our door means that she doesn't want a war. As long as Carrie stays safe, Tempest will have no reason to attack."

"But how long will that last?" Yomi said. "We all know her organization is getting restless. That's why she went after Carrie in the first place. The rich that support Tempest are growing dissatisfied with the stalemate Yusuke and her have shared for the past seventeen years."

"Why not just let it go?" I asked.

Eyes turned to me and I suddenly felt nervous. I cleared my throat before I continued.

"Yomi just said that her power grows weaker the longer she doesn't act. So why not just let her die out?" I asked.

A woman that I have never seen before leaned forward. A green headband kept her ginger hair out of her one visible gray eye. A scrap of cloth hung over the left side of her face, hiding it from view. A large monocle erupted out of the middle of the cloth where her left eye eye should have been positioned. From under the cloth poked a wicked looking scar that snaked diagonally over her nose to end halfway down her cheek. Her face was long and triangular, it gave her an elegant look. Her lips were small, but full. She was very pretty.

"I agree that we let Tempest feel the pinch. The petty demons who are easily swayed will be more likely to join our ranks when they see the cracks in her foundation. However, the longer we sit the more unstable she will become. If we sit too long then she will be replaced by an unknown. If we let that happen we let the chance of killing this rebellion slip through our fingers. We may never catch it again."

"I doubt Tempest will sit that long. If there is one thing people like her fear, it is the loss of their power and importance. She would rather die and take the whole of Makai out with her than simply fade away." Yomi said.

The woman with ginger hair looked at Yomi. The look wasn't particularly nice. "If she's assassinated and replaced we won't know until its too late."

"Children!" Yusuke said and gave the two demons a disproving look. "If she's been in power for this long, I don't think she's gonna fall away any time soon. I don't want a war on my hands so I can wait a wile. But I'm warning you now, I am not gonna wait forever. I want her gone. If she hasn't made any moves within the next three months I'm going down there and kicking her ass myself."

The room was quiet for a moment. Yomi suddenly smirked and then laughed.

"Ever the beacon of wisdom. I think we can all agree to three months. That should also give us enough time to gain the support of the lesser demons. If we end up with war on our hands, we'll need all the troops we can get." Yomi said.

Yusuke stood up. "Alright then. We wait three months and if she doesn't move, we do. This meeting is adjourned. Carrie, come with me."

People started standing up and moving. Jin stood and looked like he wanted to come and see me. I wasn't ready for him so I ignored him and walked over to Yusuke. He held out his hand and I took it. Together we left the room. We paused in the hallway as daddy fell in behind us. Yusuke turned and we followed him deeper into the palace. The farther we walked the more expensive looking the place became. I recognized my room as we passed it. We went down another hallway and into a different room.

We ended up in a sitting room. The space was large and bright. Three comfortable looking chairs were arranged around a coffee table. There was a bookshelf along one wall that didn't look like it was used much. The room felt homey but not lived in. The decoration didn't seem to fit Yusuke's personality. It was quiet and subdued, almost feminine. A woman was already in the room, she bowed as we entered and opened a sliding door. The view beyond showed an even larger version of my mother's garden. Yusuke waved his hand and the woman left. Daddy walked over to a chair and sat down in it as Yusuke did the same. I took the remaining chair and tried to act more relaxed than I really was.

Yusuke leaned forward and laced his hands together between his knees.

"Carrie, Kurama and I have been talking about you. We've been trying to think about the best way to keep your safe. We've decided that the best thing would be for you to stay here."

My eyes darted to my daddy. "Are you staying too?"

My daddy's green eyes softened and he smiled. "Yes. The more eyes we can keep on you the better."

Yusuke rubbed the back of his neck. "We've also noticed that you've started to develop powers. I'd train you, but I'm afraid I'd get a little over zealous and hurt you..." His voice trailed off.

Daddy glanced at Yusuke before looking at me. He continued where Yusuke left off."These powers, if left unchecked, could become dangerous and turn against yourself and others. We ourselves are not sure how far your power will grow or to what end. Because of your genetics and your exposure to demon world, we don't know whether they will stay human in nature or develop into something demonic. Yusuke and I are too close to you train you objectively. I know that you are an eager learner and sometimes push yourself too hard to please your teachers. This type of attitude would cause us to either push you too hard or not enough. I know that you have already approached Touya and played a little bit at martial arts. He seems interested in continuing to train you. Yusuke and I agreed to let him continue."

I took one slow blink. How had he known that I'd fought with Touya? That had just happened this morning.

Daddy sensed my question and smiled. "We have our own spy network inside Tempest's organization, we can only assume that she has one here as well. Yusuke and I have assigned Hokushin and a few trusted others to keep an eye on you, least you become too tempting a prize."

Yusuke smiled. "You'll have fun staying here."

I wasn't too surprised at the arrangement. I kind of had a feeling this would happen. But what about my other life? It was my senior year and I was only a few months shy of graduation.

"What about school?" I blurted.

My daddy smiled. "Think of it as a vacation. We'll start back up after we've taken care of Tempest. Besides, you'll be too tired to study once Touya gets his hands on you."

"But what about prom? And soft ball, what will my coach say?" I asked.

"What's prom?" Yusuke asked.

Kurama sighed. "Its an American custom similar to our Seijin no hi. Boys and girls in their final year of high school attend their first formal dance."

Yusuke oh'ed and nodded.

"Sei-what?" I asked.

"Seijin no hi is a national holiday in Japan. Its a coming of age ceremony for those who have just turned twenty. Its a way to congratulate and welcome them into the world of adulthood."

I nodded. Then the same though struck me from earlier.

"Daddy. If we're all speaking English, why are you referencing Japanese culture? And why was there Japanese writing all over that display in the other room?" I asked.

"English isn't the native language spoken here, darling. We are all speaking it as a courtesy to you. As you may have guessed, our primary language here is Japanese. When Yusuke started learning how to speak English years ago, it became popular in Makai. Many of Makai's citizens speak several different languages anyway, most of which are practiced by a specific species of demon." Daddy said.

"English is a pain the butt." Yusuke complained. "Everything you guys say is backwards."

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

My daddy laughed. "Carrie. Japanese word their sentences very different from English. Speech patterns, very different from English, they are."

"That sounded like Yoda." I giggled.

The star wars reference passed over Yusuke's head. My dad got it and laughed.

"Yes. Speak this way, Japanese do." My dad said.

"Will I learn how to speak Japanese?" I asked.

"Sure, I'll teach ya." Yusuke said.

"I'll help you when he gets stuck." Daddy said.

Yusuke frowned at the floor. "I'd argue, but Kurama's right. I'm not the worlds best teacher."

I reached over and patted Yusuke's hand. "You'll do fine."

There was a knock at the door. We all looked up as a young woman entered, caring a tray of food. I suddenly realized how hungry I was. The woman put the try on the coffee table before bowing and leaving us. Yusuke lifted off the lid and slapped his hands together.

"Alright! Chow time!" Yusuke laughed.

My mouth watered at the smell of food. There were pork buns, rice, stir-fried veggies, and teriyaki chicken. All three of us dug in, enjoying the food.

…

End chapter 11

Thanks for reading. See you all real soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Let's do the time warp again!

I had spent the rest of the day getting to know Yusuke. We talked about his life. What he was like before he had died and became spirit detective. When we were finished with that, we talked about what it was like to die (he had a pretty good idea seeing a how he'd done it twice.) He told me more about my mom. About their relationship together. I could see her through his eyes and she was beautiful. She was like some angel sent from heaven just for him. An annoying, school oriented one. But an angel none the less. He told me about his master Genkai. From how he described her, I got the feeling she was like another mother for him. Unlike his real one, she saw his potential and expected him to go above and beyond it. Though her manners were gruff and her words were harsh, she loved him and he loved her (though he would never admit it, even now). Before her death she left him, Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara, Yukina, Boton, and Koenma her temple. Yusuke regretted not being able to carry out her final wish of it being turned into a half-way house for demons wishing to live in human world. Instead Kuwabara had taken over responsibility of the temple with his wife Yukina.

The moon was high in the sky before they were finished talking. With a very tentative hug Yusuke and I parted ways. He informed me that Touya was coming for me in the morning.

As I crawled into bed I had sinking feeling that I going to die. Not literally of course, but if this morning was any prelude to what training with Touya was going to be like... I was gonna die.

…

I woke to the cold. My eyes snapped open and I could make out a shadowy figure looming over my bed. My heart jumped into my throat and I jerked away from the figure. A light came on and I threw my hands over my eyes. The brightness came too soon after the dark.

"Wake up." Touya said.

"Jeez, Touya! You scared the crap out of me." I hissed.

"Get dressed and be outside in five minutes." Touya placed a bundle of cloths at the foot of my bed. Without another word he left my room.

I groaned and put my feet on the floor. It felt like I had just gone to bed a few minuets ago. It couldn't be morning already. I looked at the cloths and sighed. Making Touya wait was probably not the best idea. I stripped off my T-shirt and shivered as the cool morning air touched my skin. Now before you all get weird on me, I had on my bra. I admit that I sleep in one at night. To be honest, I don't like the feeling of flopping around.

I pulled the light yellow shirt that Touya gave me over my head. I was sad to say it was a tank top. Now, don't get me wrong. I like tank tops, just not on me. All of my height comes from my legs, not from my waist. Tank tops made me look frumpy and they clung in all the wrong places. I put on the pants next. They were dark blue and the waist was so high that they came up to the bottom of my ribs. The waist was also huge. I held them in one hand and turned back to the bed. After a moment of searching I found a sash and a hair tie that had almost gotten lost under the covers. I looped he blue sash around my waist and tied it into a knot. Socks, shoes, then I was ready to go outside.

Touya was waiting for me in the dark. He was dressed differently from yesterday. The outfit he wore was similar to my own. His, however, was completely dark blue and he chose to go bare foot. I followed Touya, putting my hair up into a messy bun as I went. Loose strands fell from the hairdo and tickled the back of my neck.

"We will begin with warm-ups."

I did push-ups until my arms shook and I thought they would fall off. I'm sad to say that I don't have much upper body strength. What muscle I did have came from my dog walking job. I know it sounds confusing, how can walking give you arm muscle? The answer is the dogs themselves. Especially if their owners haven't taught them leash manners. It takes quite a bit of strength to pull in a dog that suddenly decides to bolt. I used a combination of back and arm strength for that. Which was probably why I was sucking so much at the push-ups. I was relying on my arm muscles alone. I made it to 35 before my arms gave out on me and dropped me to the ground. Touya ordered me to do ten more. I did my best, but I couldn't make it to ten. Touya let me off the hook at three.

Next Touya had me lay on my back and bend my knees at a 90 degree angle. I got a little nervous when he put a hand on my knee, but told myself to relax. He was my teacher. He explained that we were going to do a strength training exercise. He was going to provide resistance. At first I felt silly. He had me keep my ankles together and bend the knee with his hand on it away from the other. I could feel a burning in my bad hip. Thankfully we didn't do many of those. Instead he helped me stretch out my legs. I think he was trying to help me strengthen my hips.

Next came sit ups. I did those until the sun rose above the horizon. I did better at those then I did at the push ups making it to 45. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Touya told me I could stop. I collapsed to the ground and close my eyes. Sweet relaxation. It was not to be however.

"Stand here." He pointed to a spot directly in front of him that left about an arms length of space between us. "Copy me. This is the starting position."

I groaned, but got up and stood where he instructed. Touya bent his knees and placed one foot slightly in front of the other. With that small movement his entire attitude changed. The pose didn't look threatening, and his position was so slight that it looked like he was just standing. But, at the same time, he was different. The only way I could describe it was that Touya was "on". It was like somebody flipped a switch. The air was suddenly charged with energy and he seemed ready to take on anything in his path.

I suddenly didn't want to be standing that close to him. He had made no move to hurt me, but the threat was there on the air. I took a deep breath for courage and sank into the position. When I was finished Touya walked around me.

"Pull in your stomach muscles." He said and patted my gut. "Back straight. Keep yourself loose."

I adjusted my body as he commanded.

"Good. Now relax."

I got out of the stance and looked at him.

"Get into the starting position."

I repositioned my body as best I could. Touya grunted in disgust and shifted my body into the proper pose.

"Relax."

I stepped out of the pose.

"Starting position."

I assumed the position, careful to pose my body exactly as he showed me. Instead of disgust, I got a grunt of approval. I almost smiled, but stopped myself. I wasn't sure how welcome any show of pleasure would be. Touya stood in front of me again and raised his hands. The elbows were tucked tight against his torso and held flat. The left was elevated about where his jaw was, his right around nipple height. I copied the movement.

"We will start with the basic. I will punch, you will block."

He struck without warning. I barely had time to deflect it. Touya pulled back and punched out with his other hand. I lifted my left hand to block. I was surprised at how natural blocking was from the position Touya had put me in. All I had to do was turn my wrist slightly and deflect with my palm.

"Good. Now you try to hit me." Touya said.

I pulled back and punched out. Touya caught my hand.

"Harder, Carrie."

I punched out again. Touya blocked. The way he blocked was different from me. I added a little twisting motion at the end that deflected my fist away from the core of his body.

"Don't lock your wrist."

We punched back and forth. As morning drew on, he taught me several different blocks. Many of them were deflecting moves. I was surprised to find that all of his defensive moves relied on circular motion. The concept was actually very simple. Turn your opponents momentum and weight against them. It really took advantage of the old saying 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall.'

As the day wore on, I couldn't keep the smile from my face. I was having fun. It was almost the same high I got when I was drawing. I enjoyed the feeling of my body moving. I relished the wind generated by a fist that missed its target. The shock of my arms absorbing the kinetic energy of a punch. The pain generated by a hit that I failed to deflect wasn't as fun, but it spurred me to try harder. I'll admit, the danger was intoxicating. It was exciting how Touya had the potential to hurt me. I suddenly understood why people threw themselves out of airplanes or jumped off cliffs.

Touya got a fist past my block that struck me under the eye. My head snapped to the side and I heard something pop. The world went black. I woke on the ground Touya standing above me, tapping my cheek.

"Carrie. Carrie, wake up." Touya said.

I blinked and brought a hand up to my head.

"Are you alright?" Touya asked.

"Yea." I croaked and tried to get up.

Touya pushed me back down. "Stay down for a moment. We've done enough for today."

"But-" I tried to argue.

Touya gave me a stern look that ended my resistance. After a few moments more he let me up. I looked around and realized that it was evening. We had been fighting all day. It almost felt like we were in a time warp.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Five o'clock." Touya answered.

I suddenly felt tired and my body ached. I took the hand that Touya offered to help me up. My body popped and I grimaced at the sound. Fighting suddenly wasn't as fun as it had been earlier.

"Before I let you go, we'll finish with some stretching exorcizes."

I followed him as he bent over at the waist and wrapped his arms behind his knees, keeping his legs completely straight. His chest was touching his thighs. I grimaced and followed his example, I was able to wrap my arms behind my legs but I didn't get my chest to touch. I didn't really try to either, I could feel the burn all the way down the backs of my legs. We stretched everything, including our hands and feet. I thought it was a little silly, but it did feel good.

"The rest of the evening is yours." Touya said and walked away.

"See you tomorrow, Touya!" I called after him. Touya put a hand up, letting me know he heard me, but he didn't turn around.

I walked away and gasped when my legs shook. I felt like jelly and my left hip chose this moment to start complaining. I limped back to my room. I was surprised to find a woman sitting in the middle of the floor. She bowed when I entered.

"I shall take you to your bath, Hime." She said.

I smiled. This was a little awkward. "Uh...Hi. I'm Carrie."

The woman smiled and stood. Not really knowing what else to do, I followed her out the door. We walked for a while and I was really too tired to remember all the twists and turns that lead us here. The woman picked up a bucket and started to put things inside it like soap and shampoo. I watched her, trying to memorize where she got it so I could put it back when I was done.

The woman turned to me and when she reached out to help me get undressed I backed away.

"N-no thank you. I've got it from here." I said with a smile.

The woman laughed behind her sleeve at me but didn't try to help me undress. Instead she got a towel and led me into the bathroom. There was a shower area. I sighed in pleasure. I was covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. I suddenly wanted to be out of these cloths and clean. I turned to the lady and she pulled back a curtain to show me a large steaming pool beyond.

"Wow." I said.

She laughed again behind her sleeve.

Now the big question was did I want a bath, or a shower? I decided on bath. I was about to strip off my shirt but the lady was still standing there. Call me a wimp, but I was **so** not into casual nudity.

"Um...are you going to stay?" I asked, trying my best to not sound rude.

"Only if you wish it." Was her reply.

"Then, I'm okay. You don't have to stay. Thank you, though." I said nervously.

The lady giggled. "Well, I do need your cloths, Hime. So I can wash them..."

I oh'ed and looked for a place to strip in private. The woman seemed to get my dilemma. She laughed again and walked out the door we had come in together.

"Place your things out here when you are finished." She called.

"Oh. Before you go, do I have anything to change into when I'm done?" I called, thankful that I thought of it.

"Yes, there is a robe in the bathing area." She called.

I smiled and stripped. When I was finished I tossed my cloths out the door, I had them wadded carefully so that they came out in a bundle that wouldn't strew them all over the place. I could hear her moving around out there.

"Thank you." I called.

I turned away and picked up my bucket. I had to stop saying thank you so much. I was starting to annoy myself. I started off towards the bath when a voice stopped me.

"Hime, where are you going? Shower first."

I let out a girly eek of surprise and jumped so bad I almost dropped my bucket. I looked over my shoulder at the woman from earlier. She looked so calm and at ease. I felt a blush rise to my face. She looked confused.

"Are you alright Hime?" She asked.

"What are you dong in here?" I squeaked.

"I am your servant. I'm supposed to help you." She answered.

"Where I come from, people bathe themselves." I whispered, utterly embarrassed.

Her eyes lit up in understanding. "I understand. This is uncomfortable for you." She laughed again, this time she didn't hide it. "I'm sorry, Hime. I'll be out in the hall if you need me."

"You don't have to wait." I called.

I don't know if she heard me. I went to the shower stall and washed myself. When I was finished I went into the bathing area and grabbed the robe. I really didn't feel like soaking in a tub, especially if that woman was waiting for me. I poked my head out the door and found that she was gone. I guess she had heard me. Well...if no one was waiting, then I guess I could get into the water. I walked back to tub and got in.

It felt like heaven. The heat wrapped around my body like a glove, washing away the aches and pains. I sighed and sank as low in the water as I could. Dear god, this felt nice. My eyes suddenly felt heavy and I blinked. I knew I shouldn't close my eyes. But I couldn't help myself. I would just close them for a moment. That wouldn't be so bad right?

…

Water closed over my head and I jerked up. I coughed and sputtered, wiping water out of my eyes. What an idiot, falling asleep in the darn tub. I decided to get out. I dried myself and got back into the robe. I didn't want to, but I put away the shampoo, soap, and folded my towel. My legs felt like lead as I tried to find my way back to my room.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." I muttered as I walked. Why hadn't I payed more attention when that lady brought me here.

My legs felt like water and I leaned back against a wall. This was it, I couldn't move anymore. I slid down the wall and grunted when my butt hid a little harder then I meant it to. I was exhausted. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I would continue on after just a moment. I needed to rest. I was so tired.

…

"What are ya doin' here, luv?" A voice asked.

My eyes shot open and I look up into a pair of blue eyes. I should have been angry, but I just didn't have the energy. I leaned back against the wall and tried to pick myself up. My body shook with the effort, but I only made it half way before it just gave out on me.

I gasped and fell back to the floor with a thud. My heart was racing and I was sweating. A pair of hands were on my cheeks lifting my head up. "Carrie, are ya alright?"

"I'm just tired." I whispered. "Can you help me up?"

Jin took my hands and he helped me stand. Well, he more pulled me to my feet. I locked my knees to keep myself from falling. He steadied me.

"I was trying to get back to my room. Where am I?" I asked.

"Ya are on the wrong side of the castle, luv." Jin said.

"Goodie. Which way do I go?" I asked.

Jin guided my arm over his neck and put another around my waist. We walked off together.

We were suddenly stopping. I looked up as Jin slid a door open. We were in front of my room and I didn't remember walking here. He helped me over to my bed and I flopped into it when he let me go. I think I heard him ask me if I had eaten anything. I don't remember answering.

…

Somebody tapped my shoulder. I looked up into a pair of eyes that looked like Ice.

"Shit." I groaned and rolled out of the bed.

My knees hit hard and I sat like that for a moment. I gathered my wits about me as Touya left the room. God I was tired. I numbly pulled on my cloths and got to my feet. I knew before I got out there that today was gonna suck.

…

I had been right, though I did still have fun. Touya wiped the floor with me. He had introduced kicking along with the punching. It was a combination that caught me off guard. Right when I had learned a particular pattern, Touya changed it up. I did my best to keep up with him. He hit me good and I went down. He didn't give me a chance to get back up. I curled up in a ball and protected my head as best I could.

When Touya realized that I had given up he pulled back.

"I know you are tired, Carrie. We will end our lesson today. I expect better from you tomorrow." Touya said.

I lay there for god knows how long, all I knew was when I got up the sun had set. I limped to my room. The woman from yesterday was there. I refused the bath she offered, instead choosing to eat the food that she had brought with her. I forced myself to eat as slowly as I could. I did not want to get sick. When I was through I collapsed into my bed, still fully dressed but too tired to care.

…

My days turned into a blur. I woke up almost as tired as when I went to bed. After warm up exercises I got my butt kicked by Touya until I couldn't stand anymore. After that I dragged myself off to eat and sleep. It was hell. But, after a while, I did notice myself improving. My body got lean and I lost weight. I could take Touya's punches better and I didn't go down as often or as quickly as I had before. I was able to force myself to the bathroom and shower. I did not, however, soak in that tub. I knew if I got in, I would never get back out.

It was a week...or maybe three...before I had earned my first break.

I woke at the normal time and got myself ready. I met Touya at our usual spot and waved at him. Touya did not respond with the wave. Instead he nodded and put his hands behind his back. We did our normal warm up routine. However, the numbers had gotten bigger, I was sitting pretty at 250. Though Touya was still not impressed, he wanted 500. Ugh...

I could tell today was different by the time we finished warming up. Instead of assuming the normal position, Touya took me into the cool down phase of stretches. Thanks to my joints being over flexible I had always been good at stretching. With Touya's prompting I was now a little contortionist. I could loop my arms behind my knees and kiss my thighs. I could do the splits, and touch my shoulders with the soles of my feet. Thanks to Touya, I would now be welcome in any side show at the circus.

"Now that you understand the very basics of martial arts, it is time to introduce the spiritual aspect. I suggest you spend today in quiet contemplation."

That said, Touya left. I stood stunned for a moment. Did Touya just give me the day off? Holey mother of god, I was going back to bed! Yippee! I went back to my room, kicked off my shoes and climbed in. A smile crossed my lips as I thought back to how surprised I had been whenever Jin or Touya had fallen asleep in moments. I closed my eyes and realized that I could do that too now.

…

End chapter 12

Thanks for reading.


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Please support the official release.

Chapter 13

When Irish eyes are smiling

I slept for five more hours. I could probably have gone more, but the sun rose and made my room impossibly bright. When I finally couldn't stand it anymore I pulled myself out of bed. I felt better than I had in a long time. With a contented sigh I decided to go to take a bath.

I relished the shower, but hurried through it. I had only gotten a little sweaty from this morning. Nothing compared to the dirt and grime a full day's worth of training gave me. When I was all clean I slipped into the bath. Its warm water enveloped my body like a hug. I never realized how tight my body was until I let the water sooth the tension away.

As I let myself get prune-y, my eyes wandered around the bathroom. I was shocked at how much had slipped past me the night I first had taken a bath. For starters the pool wasn't so much a "tub" as a converted hot spring. The architect had come through and used the natural shape of the pool and turned it into something timeless, yet modern. The walls were an added addition, and they were shaped to take the pools naturally odd shape and accent it to give the feeling of depth. Gotta say, I was impressed.

I pulled myself out of the bath after soaking for about an hour. I don't think I have ever felt this relaxed before. I dried myself with a towel. Something moving caught my eye. I looked up and gasped. For a second I thought that there was another woman in the bath, but I suddenly realized that there was a mirror in here. I walked over to it. There wasn't just a mirror, there was a vanity and a little stool as well. I wondered how in the world I had ever missed it in the first place. My only excuse was that I had only been in the bath area one time before and I had been dead tired. Still wrapped in the towel I sat myself down on the stool and looked into the mirror.

My face had changed a little. I had never had a round face, but I could tell that I had lost weight. My face was a little more triangular then a few weeks before. I was startled to realize just how much I looked like my mother, now that I knew what her face looked like. We both shared the same overall shape and cheek bones. The face wasn't long or elegant, but more girl next door. Our eyes were the same, big and hazel with just the slightest upturn at the corners. I had my dad's nose. I had to admit that it was kind of cute and had the slightest up-tilt. My mouth was like my mom's, normal width with a thicker bottom lip. The top wasn't thin, but it wasn't thick either. It was just right.

I had dad's hair too. The thickness and texture was a spitting image. My hair followed his shape but at the same time was my own. I didn't have bangs, instead it parted down the center and flowed to the sides, creating a 'M' shape. Depending on how I positioned my head, my hair either flipped over my shoulder or hung straight down like water. It was almost like it couldn't decide where it wanted to go.

My body had changed too. Now, don't get me wrong, I hadn't been fat. I just had never had a body that was meant for fighting. I shifted my torso and watched myself flex. My stomach had the slightest indentation of abdominal muscles. Thank god I didn't have a six pack, that was a little too masculine for my tastes. My flesh was tight around my ribs and accented the natural dip in at the belly button and slight swell out towards the groin. It was the same shape corsets and diets had been trying to imitate for eons. My arms were lean but not overdone. You could see the swell of muscle, but it was more like a swimmer's arm then a weight lifter's. I stood up and got a look at my back side. My back was sculpted planes that flowed down to a tight rear. I suppressed a smile at the thought of my bum covered in a pair of tight jeans, I would have looked hot. My legs had always been my best feature, but now they were even better. My thighs were slimmer, but well defined, and my calves gave my lower legs great definition.

I blushed and sat back down on the stool. I was acting like an idiot, checking myself out in the mirror. I covered my embarrassment by rummaging through the vanity drawers. I found a comb, some old makeup, perfume, and a pearl necklace. There were also various pieces of paper and other miscellaneous junk. I picked up the brush and brushed my hair. I had a few snarls, but they were quickly gone. When I was done, my hair gleamed in the low light.

I picked up the necklace and held it against myself. Upon closer inspection I realized that, though these were some type of stone, they were not pearls. They were shaped perfectly round and were an odd color. It also felt like they had been sanded just enough to take off a mark of some kind. I let my fingers play over the stones, I could feel faint scratches in their surface, almost like shapes. I shrugged and put it on. I didn't think anybody would miss a fake pearl necklace.

Next I played with the perfume. It took me a moment to figure out how to get the lid off. When I did, the room suddenly smelled of fresh flowers. It was strong, but not overpowering, and very delicate. It was the kind of perfume that lingered in the room a moment after the wearer left. I smiled. The stuff in the drawers had been old, I could tell from the feel of some of the papers. For the perfume to smell this good and not have that alcohol smell like some other brands...this stuff hadn't been cheap. I took the little glass dipper and pushed it into the liquid. I had never really put on perfume before. I had experimented with friends, but that had always been cheap vanilla stuff. From that earlier experimentation, I knew that a little went a long way. I took out the dipper and gently applied a tiny amount to my wrists, throat, and behind my ears. When I was done, I rubbed my wrists together like I had seen movie stars do. I also rubbed my wrists at the small of my back, lessening the smell on my hands.

When I was done, I got back into my training uniform. As I left the bathroom, I lifted my wrist to my nose and inhaled the perfume. I loved that smell. It reminded me of walking through a field of wild flowers.

"Oi! Carrie, luv." Jin called.

I looked back over my shoulder. Jin walked down the hall towards me. He looked nervous and hand an arm behind his back. I turned and walked away. I did not want to see him.

"Carrie." Jin called again.

I continued to ignore him and walked faster. Suddenly a blast of wind came from nowhere and knocked me back. It felt like somebody shoved me in the shoulders, throwing off my balance. I backpedaled to get my feet under me again. I would have fallen, but Jin was there and caught me.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say yer tryin ta ignore me." Jin said with a grin.

I wrenched myself up and out of his arms and glared at him. "Now what gave you that idea?"

Jin's happy smile cracked slightly and he looked away. "Carrie, yer not bein fair."

I growled. "Fair! I'm not being fair? Jin, I'm not the one who ran off and slept with some...lady" I was gonna call her something else but restrained myself.

Jin looked angry. "Hold on, now! I didn-a sleep with anyone! She asked, I refused. An' why on earth would I sleep with the likes-a her if'in there's somebody else..." He let the sentence die on his lips and turned away, shaking his head. "Never mind."

He didn't sleep with her, and there's somebody else? Somebody else what? The anger was replaced with a feeling of relief, then utter fear. What was he going to say? Did he like somebody else? Was I coincided enough to hope it was me? Could it be me? I was praying it was. As I let these questions assault my mind, Jin walked away. If I let him go...would he come back? Did I want him to? The answer was no. No, I didn't want him to go. When I saw him disappear around I corner I shook myself like a dog coming out of water. I knew that if I let him go, he was not going to come back.

"Jin!" I called and ran after him. "Wait!"

I rounded the corner and found him standing with his back to me. I walked forward and reached out to touch him, but didn't. I wasn't sure how welcome my touch would be.

"You said there was somebody else..." I let my voice trail off.

He didn't turn around. I watched as he pulled himself up straighter and squared his shoulders. "It doesn't matter. She doesn't want me anyhow."

I felt my stomach drop to my feet and my mouth went dry. It took me two times to say. "How can you be so sure."

He turned slightly and the look he gave me was not entirely friendly. "Well, for starters, she accuses me a doin things I didn't. Then has the gall ta spurn me advances, even when I'm tryin ta apologize for somethin I didn-a even do in the first place." He ran a hand threw his hair, eyes heated. "Did she even think that maybe, just maybe, she ain't the only one hurtin? That maybe the boy-o who left that night, found himself bein clung to by a persistent woman an' decided ta leave so the girl he liked didn-a have ta see it?"

I looked down and hugged myself. I hadn't thought of that. I was so wrapped up in my own pain that I didn't even think about his own. I looked up when Jin heaved a sigh and let his shoulders slump.

"It don matter now, any how." He shrugged his shoulders and turned away. "I'll leave ya alone, Carrie."

As he started to leave I reached out and grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry. Jin...I didn't think about anybody but myself, and I'm sorry. I was just so mad when I looked up and you and that woman were gone. Your right, I was jealous. I still am jealous. Please..."

Jin stopped. He didn't look at me, but he didn't shrug me off either. "You were jealous? Of ol' Jin?"

"Yes. You were so cold then that I thought you didn't want to be with me any more. When you teased me for being jealous, I thought you were making fun of me. I was so mad..." I let my voice trail off when my throat got too tight to speak. I swallowed and it felt like I was choking on glass. Tears pricked my eyes but I bit them back. I would not cry.

Jin did look at me and his eyes had lost that heat. He licked his lips. "I guess we both goofed a little."

I nodded, unable to speak. I let go of his hand, if didn't I was going to cry.

Jin cleared his throat and put both of his hands behind his back. "Well, then. Uh...let's just forget that ever happened, eh luv?Shall we be starin over, then?"

I nodded.

"Well, you go walk that-a-way an we'll start this conversation right proper this time." Jin motioned with his head for me to walk down the hall.

I turned my back on him and took a moment to collect myself and wipe my eyes. When I was ready, I started off down the hall. For a moment I was almost afraid that he had me do this so he could walk away.

"Oi! Carrie, luv!" Jin called.

My heart skipped a beat and I almost felt light headed when I turned around. Jin was smiling as he walked up to me, both hands still behind his back.

I had to clear my throat before I could say "Hello, Jin."

"I saw that Touya gave ya the day off an..." He looked away from me. "Ya said that you would teach me how ta draw? Oh, I got ya these by the way."

I was surprised when he shoved a pad of thick paper into my hands and some pencils. How in the world had I not seen these? I gasped and looked down at them, my hands already exploring the paper's surface. I couldn't stop the smile that spread itself across my face. Simply having the drawing tools was like getting a piece of my soul back.

"Jin...I...Thank you." I couldn't think of the right words to express my happiness.

Jin looked pleased with himself. "I remembered how much ya fancied these."

I grabbed Jin by the hand and pulled him after me. He followed me as I ran through the house and into my mother's garden. I plopped myself down onto the deck and crossed my legs under myself.

"What do you want to draw first?" I asked.

Jin laughed and sat himself down. "I don know, luv. Let me think." He looked out over the garden, then pointed towards a tree. "How bout that tree over there?"

I handed him some paper and a pencil. Jin took it carefully between his fingers and copied how I was holding mine. He looked at me.

"Well, aren't you going to start?" I asked.

Jin rolled his eyes. "I was waitin for ya ta teach me how."

I scooted closer to his side and looked down at his paper. "Well, first you have to decide what style you want. Realistic or abstract?"

Jin scratched his head looking confused. "Uh...I really don know nothin 'bout art, luv."

I sat back and pointed at the tree. It was a proud maple that sported vibrant red leaves. It lorded over the far edge of the pond giving it shade. Branches curved and reached skyward like thick black snakes. It was a beautiful.

"What made you pick that tree?" I asked.

Jin shrugged. "I like the color."

"What else?" I prompted.

Jin turned his head to the side. "Well...I also like how twisted it is. It kind-a looks like somebody's tryin ta pull it apart into two separate trees, but they keep holdin on to each other at the base. Like they don wanna let go."

"I know it sounds silly, but how does it make you feel?" I asked.

Jin put a hand behind his head, a little uncomfortable. "Well...I don know. It bein just a tree an all, but...a little sad I guess. But I got hope for 'em. It takes a lot of guts ta stick together when somethin tries ta pull ya apart."

I nodded. "Well, there's your tree. Try to feel what you just told me while you draw. Here's how you start. Pick something on the tree to use as a measurement guide, for example the tree trunk right before it splits." I held my pencil out in front of me and marked the length with my thumb.

Jin took my hand. "I wasn't really talkin bout the tree, luv."

I liked my lips, suddenly nervous. "W-what were you talking about then?"

Whatever he was about to say died on his lips when somebody knocked on my bedroom door. Jin pulled away from me and I looked back inside.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Carrie, can I come in?" It was my daddy.

I didn't know what I was going to say next because Jin summoned up a gust of wind and was gone. I watched him leave before turning back to my door.

"Yea daddy come on in." I called.

…

End chapter 12

Dun Dun dunnnnnnnnnn! Cliff hanger.


	14. Chapter 14

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Please support the official release.

Chapter 14

Stop, stop, stop, went my heart-strings!

I wiped my sweating hands on my pants as the door slid open to reveal my daddy. My heart was pounding and I desperately wished he would just go away. I wanted to know what Jin was talking about.

"Good afternoon." Daddy said.

"Hi. What brings you here?" I asked.

"I just decided to stop by for a visit, see how you were doing." Daddy said.

I groaned mentally. He came by just to chat? I wanted to talk, just not to him. Not right this second anyway. I let a pleasant smile cross my face. I didn't want to be rude, I hadn't seen him in days.

"So, how's the training with Touya going?" Daddy asked.

My legs moved of their own accord, pulling me to my feet. They wanted to run out the door after Jin, but I couldn't. I hit my anxiousness by stretching. I looked out over garden as I moved, my eyes searched for a certain red head. "Its okay I guess."

"You guess?"

I turned back to my dad. "Well...I don't really have anything to compare it to."

"I see. Did you have any plans for today?" Daddy asked.

I sensed an opportunity to get away.

"Well...I was kind of hanging out with Jin." I said and rubbed the back of my head.

Dad nodded. "I see. I'm sorry for interrupting. Shall I see you later then?"

I could tell my dad was kind of bummed. I felt a little bad so I quickly added. "If its okay, that is. I'll stay with you if you want."

My daddy brightened and got to his feet. "No. Its alright, you go be with Jin."

Having the okay I stood up and rushed out the door, only to stop, turn around, run back in, and wrap my arms around my daddy in a hug. I think I surprised him a little because he momentarily lost his footing. He laughed and kissed the top of my head.

"Love you daddy." I said.

"Love you too." He said.

I dashed away from him back out into the garden.

…

"Jin!" I called.

"Up here, luv!"

I looked up and had to shade my eyes with my hand. He floated down, the wind playing gently with his hair and clothing as he did so.

I couldn't keep the smile off my face as he landed on the grass. Jin smiled back, blue eyes shining.

"Would ya like ta go for a walk?" Jin asked.

I nodded and took the hand he held out to me. I licked my suddenly dry lips as Jin slipped an arm over my shoulders and pulled me into a half-hug as we walked. We managed to find a rhythm with our feet so that we moved in time with each other.

"Are ya nervous?" Jin asked.

I glanced up at him.

"I can hear yer heart flutterin like a bird." He said.

I grinned sheepishly. Great. So much for trying to stay cool and collected. I could feel a blush creep up my cheeks. "Sorry." I mumbled.

Jin cocked his head to the side as we rounded the pond. His smile went goofy and he started to laugh. "Sorry? Lass, what do ya have ta be sorry about? Its right nice when a boy-o knows a lady likes 'im."

The remarks about my feelings got me nervous. It was awkward and made me feel on the spot. I felt myself growing defensive. "Who says I like you?"

Jin clicked his tongue at me and leaned down so we were eye level. He was so close I could feel his breath on my face. Wide blue eyes searched mine. My breath hitched and I felt my knees go weak. A smile quirked his lips and crinkled his eyes up into half moons.

"Yer heart says so, luv, it damn near stopped just then." He teased.

I pulled away from Jin and walked the last few feet to the maple tree. I took a deep shaky breath and leaned back against it. Jin watched me go, the smile never left his face. I crossed my arms over my stomach. I had never felt this way before. It was like a whole flock of butterfly's had taken flight in my stomach. My hands were sweating (yuck) and my toes were tingling. I felt hot and cold at the same time, like a fever, but this was pleasant and a little scary.

"Well...that's not fair." I whispered.

Jin stepped closer to me. I watched as the shade from the tree enveloped him, starting from his toes, up his legs, to his chest, then face, and finally sliding over his hair. He stopped when he was next to me and propped an arm on the bark above me.

"Whats not fair, luv?" He asked.

I looked down at my sneakers. "You can tell what I'm feeling but I have no clue what yours are."

Jin leaned closer. "Ya want ta know what I feel, eh?"

I shuffled my feet suddenly nervous. "Well..." I let my voice die off suddenly not knowing what to say.

Jin shifted next to me and put his hands behind his head. I glanced up and watched as he pursed his lips and scrunched his mouth to one side. His eyes rolled over and he locked onto mine. He gave me a weighted look and his usually light attitude shifted to something serious.

"Carrie luv, I'm gonna ask ya somethin and I want ya ta be honest with ol' Jin." He took a breath and his eyes narrowed slightly. "I'll know if yer lyin, so don even try. So...do ya really wan ta know what I feel?"

"Yes." I said.

Jin searched my face for a moment then looked away. He was silent, the only sound was when he brought a hand down to scratch at his cheek. He sighed then looked at me.

"Luv, there is a way for ya ta know..." He let his voice trail off then shook himself like a dog coming out of water. Confidence seemed to wash over his features as he pushed away from the tree and stood in front of me. His lips quirked up into a grin. "I ain't much good at talkin so let me just show ya."

I looked up at him and my mouth went dry. "You could have fooled me, about the talking bit anyway."

Jin laughed and leaned down. "Very funny, luv. Very funny."

Oh god, he was going to kiss me! I let my eyes slide shut and I puckered my lips slightly. His hands went to my shoulders, holding them gently. I suddenly felt the top of my shirt sliding sideways and he slipped my bra strap out of the way. I opened my eyes in confusion as teeth sank into my shoulder. I gasped, mouth gaping wide in a silent scream. Holey crap that frickin hurt! The pain was suddenly replaced by a warm sensation that flowed from his mouth into my shoulder. The wrenching pain dulled to an ache, then to something almost pleasurable as the heat wormed its way down into my chest cavity. I felt myself relax into Jin and wrap my arms around his waist to steady myself. His power brushed up against something deep inside me, around where my heart was. I felt Jin grow curious of that something, we both did not know what it was.

I wanted to tell him not to touch it, it felt weird. But it was too late, he explored that power with his own. As his warmth caressed that strange spot inside me I felt something click. My body went hot and I arched into his touch. Not knowing what he had done, Jin decided to let go. I felt Jin relax his jaw muscles and take his teeth from my shoulder. My head lolled to the side as his warm, wet tongue licked the blood that pooled out of the bite. I raised myself up on my tiptoes. I had to bite him back, no, needed to. Something wouldn't happen if I didn't. Jin steadied me and knelt down onto the grass.

"Luv? Are ya alright?"

I reared back and sank my teeth into his neck. Jin gasped and flexed his back keeping us steady. Something grew inside me, a tide of power. I didn't know what it was, but it reminded me of the thing that shot out of my palm. But at the same time it was different. There was something else with it. I could feel that other coarse through my veins in time with my heartbeat. In a matter of moments I was burning with power. The power wormed its way up my throat and out my mouth as I poured it into Jin. The wind master cried out and his arms locked around my body. I held him as the power flowed into him. It grew stronger as I pushed it into him. I didn't really know how to stop. And I didn't want to.

"Let go!"

I rolled my eyes up seeing the world through a haze of red. A bald man grabbed onto my hair. I pulled my mouth up from Jin's shoulder and hissed. Blood dripped down my chin.

"Its alright! Get back Hokushin!" Jin said.

I felt something move inside my body at Jin's command. I staggered back and leaned against the tree. I was still hissing, low in my throat. Jin got to his feet heedless of the blood pouring from his shoulder. I watched him. He was the only thing that mattered. I watched as his tongue darted out to wet his lips. I could feel the way the wind coxed his hands and how it wove between his fingers like a pet begging to be touched. I could feel the ache in his shoulder where I bit him. Worry ate at my belly because he thought that this wasn't right. He knew I should not be acting like this. I could feel the grass beneath his knees as he knelt down in front of me.

"Careful Jin, she could kill you."

Jin locked his eyes with mine. I looked back and felt myself drowning in his gaze. I slid down the tree and he reached out to me. His hands grabbed my shoulders and guided me to his shoulder.

"Blood o' my blood. Heart o' my heart. Those that once walked a separate path, shall now walk as one."

I locked my lips over the wound I had inflicted to Jin's shoulder, but did not bite. The salty, metallic taste of blood filled my senses and overwhelmed me. My throat convulsed and I swallowed the blood. I hardly noticed when Jin locked his own lips to my still bleeding shoulder. I felt a deep pulsing inside my chest, something that was different. I released my hold on Jin's shoulder and licked the blood from my lips. I took in a deep breath and sighed.

"Carrie. Are ya alright luv?" Jin asked and wiped my blood away from his lips.

I collapsed to my knees my breath coming in a shaking gasp. It took me two tries to finally get out. "W-what the heck was that?"

"Jin! What the hell did you do!" Yusuke was suddenly there.

I felt woozy and the world was a little tipsy. Jin winced and braced himself on the ground with his hands. He shook his head, and I could feel the way his hair tickled his shoulders at the movement. I knew without him saying anything that he didn't know what had gone wrong.

"I don know." Jin said.

Yusuke reached down and hauled Jin up by his arms.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'? I'm in the middle of a god-damn meeting and then you set off a frickin bomb!" Yusuke yelled. "I thought we were under attack!"

I covered my ears and moaned. Yusuke was too loud. A gentle pair of hands were on either side of my face and I found myself looking into the concerned face of my daddy. Relief flooded through me and I heard Jin sigh. Daddy's eyes flicked to my shirt and the blood that stained it. His mouth went into a grim line as he pulled the hem back and looked at it.

Daddy tipped my head to the side and ran his fingers over the bite. I flinched, expecting his fingers to explore a bloody wound. Instead I felt his fingers glide over smooth skin. Daddy closed his eyes and I could feel...I don't know how to explain it, but something washed over my skin. It tingled like electricity and I felt something flare inside my chest in response to his energy. I could almost associate a color to that flare. Cherry red.

"Carrie. What have you done?" My daddy asked.

"What happened?" I asked.

Suddenly there was the sick sound of flesh hitting a tree and leaves fell all around me.

"Jin! You marked my baby! What they hell?" Yusuke shouted.

Jin held up his hand. "Wait! I didn-a mean it! It wasn't supposed ta happen like that!"

I gasped and covered my ears again. "STOP IT!"

Yusuke's grip tightened on Jin's arms and I cried out. Bruises in the shape of hands bloomed on my arms.

Daddy pulled me into his arms. "Yusuke, let Jin go you're hurting Carrie!"

I felt when Jin's butt hit the ground. The energy in my chest pulsed with relief and worry over me. I grabbed onto my dad's shirt and buried my face in his chest. I got lost in his smell. I could smell the soap he used this morning during his shower, the faint hint of the garlic that had been in his food, I could smell the warm scent of his skin and under that something else. I didn't know what it was, but it reminded me of some animal. I had never been able to smell anything like this before.

"What's happening to me?" I asked.

Daddy glanced up as Jin came over to me. "You had best let Jin tell you that, darling. Just remember that I will be here if you need help."

Yusuke loomed over us, eyes burning like chocolate. "Yes Jin, enlighten us."

Jin took my hand and I instantly felt better. I got out of daddy's lap and let Jin wrap his arms around me.

"I didn-a mean for it ta get this far." Jin licked his lips before he could continue. "All I wanted was a sharin o' power. Sometin' friends give ta one another and isn't bindin. But somethin went wrong..."

"Can it be undone?" Yusuke barked.

Jin looked down at me and his eyes softened. I could tell that he wasn't sure he wanted this, what ever it was, broken. I could tell that, now that he was getting used to it, he rather liked it. "I don know."

"Jin?" I asked.

Jin's eyes grew soft. I felt a small smile flick to my lips as the energy inside me grew warm and very pleasant.

"Yes luv?"

"What happened to me?" I asked.

"Uh...How do ya feel 'bout gettin married?" Jin asked.

Married? "To who?" I asked.

Jin laughed at me and Yusuke growled. I could feel Jin's humor and almost laughed myself except for the layer of fear that undercut the happiness.

"Ta who? She says. Ta me o' course. We...Uh, I don rightly know how ta say this, luv. But, uh...We...well..." His voice cut off and I suddenly felt very awkward and a little afraid of what was going to be said.

"The power you two just shared was the demon equivalent of a wedding ceremony. For better or worse, Carrie, you are now Jin's wife. I hope you two will be very happy together." My daddy said.

I pushed away from Jin and got to my feet. "WHAT?"

Jin reached out to me, I glared at him and pointed a finger at him. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Jin let his hand drop and I felt him grow sad. It was so sharp that it stabbed my own heart like a knife. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I hugged myself. "Jin...I just...give me a minuet." I let out a breath. The sadness lessened a little, but didn't go away.

Something white fluttered by my face and I batted at it. My fingers got tangled in something. I gasped when I realized it was my own hair. I felt my stomach fall to my feet when I saw something blue on the back of my hands. I felt my chest heave and Jin was suddenly grabbing my shoulders.

"Breathe, luv. Its alright."

I tried to wipe off the blue marks from the backs of my hands but they didn't come off. I felt panic wash over me and tore at my shirt, catching a flash of blue under it. I almost exposed my breasts as the cloth ripped under my fingers and revealed a strange mark that dipped down between my breasts. It almost looked like two downward pointed triangles. I caught sight of my hands and brought them up to my face. They were tipped in claws, honest to god claws.

"Oh my god!" I panicked.

Jin wrapped his arms around me in a hug and petted my hair. "Shhh. S'alright. Carrie, calm down. Tis alright."

I could feel calm radiating out from that red spot inside me. It chased away the panic. I closed my eyes and breathed. I could smell Jin. He smelled like wind through pine trees. Under that was a smell that was all male, something dark and comforting.

"She changed when I marked her. I think I woke up her demon blood." Jin said.

"That would explain why things went wrong," Daddy said. "and her current appearance."

"I thought you said that would never happen, Kurama." Yusuke said.

"I said that it was not likely. I didn't expect this to happen. Her being in demon world woke her spirit energy, Jin's invasion of power must have been enough to summon her demon blood." Daddy's voice was dark.

"Why is her hear beatin? Demon's don have hearts." Jin said.

I glanced over Jin's shoulder as Touya appeared. Relief flooded through me. I always felt better when Touya was here. Was that my thought? I don't ever remember feeling that way before.

"She's not fully demon. I can smell it."

Jin leaned down and sniffed my hair. The movement was very unsettling. "Yer right Touya. She's like one of them half-bloods."

"Not surprising, considering her lineage." Daddy said.

I pushed myself away from Jin and looked at my daddy. "I don't understand! Whats wrong with me? Why do I feel...I...I'm not alone in my body anymore."

Daddy put a hand on my shoulder. "Come here, darling."

Daddy lead me away from the group to sit on a rock. I felt stupid and shook my head. My world was reeling and I felt different. Sounds, sights, smells, and feelings were stronger. I didn't know what to focus on. Everything seemed to be demanding my attention all at once. A blade of grass waved in the breeze and I watched it bend. I could feel the very wind, almost understood how it moved. It dawned on me that it was a simple matter of moving pressure. All I needed to do was create a vacuum and let the air do what it did naturally, move from an area of high pressure to one of low pressure, thereby creating a breeze. With enough practice, one could create a pressure change with enough force that the natural air flow would launch a person skyward. The cherry red power inside me knew how to do it. Would show me how to do it, begged me to do it.

"Carrie. Carrie!" Fingers snapped in my face. "Carrie, are you with me?"

I blinked and looked up at my daddy. "Yes."

Daddy looked relieved. I looked past daddy and saw Jin. Our eyes met and I grinned from ear to ear. Power rushed up inside of me, and I followed the instructions inside my head. I knew how to move pressure. Jin didn't smile, instead he took a step towards me and lifted a hand. "Carrie luv, DONT!"

I let go of the build up of pressure, but I didn't know how to control it. I suddenly realized that understanding how a power worked was not the same as knowing how to use it. It was like a gun, it didn't matter if the three year old holding it towards their head knew what they were doing or not. The gun would fire if the trigger was pulled. My "gun" went off, and I didn't know how to point it. I shot myself hard enough to force the air out of my lungs and knock myself out.

…

end chapter 14

Sorry it took me so long to get this out. See you again.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Home is where the heart is

I woke the the feeling of soft sheets and a very familiar mattress beneath my body. I breathed in deeply and snuggled my head down into my pillow. The familiar scent of our laundry soap wafted up. The smell made me shoot my eyes open in disbelief. The sunlight that streamed past my flimsy white curtains was very bright and I blinked against the black spots that fogged my vision. As it cleared, I realized that I was home in my own room. My eyes darted around, taking in the familiar space. White walls gleamed in the early morning sun. A computer desk and white washed dresser covered in so many stuffed toys it was almost laughable, took up the entire left wall with just enough space left over for a door. My bed, and a small book shelf dedicated to comic and fiction books (mostly romantic/action in nature) took up the right wall. The far wall was dedicated to the only window, a sliding-door closet, and a beanbag chair.

I put my feet on the floor and felt my mouth gape. I was home. This was my room. Where...How did I get here? I stood up and quickly made my bed out of habit, smoothing the sheets back and folding the comforter on top. The comforter was a patchwork of bright pastel colors. Grandma had made it for me on my tenth birthday. It was the last present I had ever gotten from her and my most favorite. The climate in Washington state was cold ten months out of the year and I had a habit of walking around in blankets, flannel jammies, and slippers. Speaking of pjs, I was dressed in my favorite nightgown. It was one I used in spring and summer when outside temperatures finally climbed above forty. It was soapy light green with an empire waist and tulip sleeves. I liked it because it was more of a dress than anything else, and I did have a fondness for dresses. It was my one girly pleasure. I had a small collection of ball, prom, and period gowns hidden away in my closet.

_...She was a lot like you. Well, maybe not quite as heavy._

_Now little Carillon is in here too._

_One day they woke me up, so I could live forever,_

_Its such a shame, the same, will never happen to you..._

I rushed over to the small desk by my bed and picked up the vibrating and GlaDos singing iphone. It was my wake up alarm. It was only programed to go off on school days. I silenced it and sat back down on my bed. What was going on? How did I get back home? Had it all been a dream? No. It couldn't have been. It had all seemed so real. I heard a floor board creak in the kitchen. Maybe it was a dream? It had all been too crazy to be real right? It would be just my luck if Jin was a figment of my imagination.

I shook my head and stood up. Real or not I only had a half hour to get ready for school. I walked over to my closet and pulled out my Catholic school uniform. Though Daddy and I were not religious, I went because private schools offered a better education then public ones. I did my best to excel there, tuition was not cheap. The satin nightgown slithered and hissed as I pulled it off. The air was cool, but not uncomfortable, on my suddenly bare skin. I walked over to my dresser and opened the top drawer. I fished out a white bra and panties. My lips pursed as I suddenly remembered my vow to never wear white again. I shrugged and put the white pair back. It took me a while to find a dark pair as it was an unnatural color for me. As it turned out the only dark pair I owned were my special occasion bra and panties. They were the first and last ones I would ever buy from Victoria Secret. I loved the fit, but I could not rationalize spending 100 dollars on just one set of undergarments.

I changed quickly, pulling on the new under-set and throwing the old into my laundry hamper. Next came my skirt. It was a medium-sized pleated solid dark blue. It was designed to fit as many different figures as possible and so had a long hem. On me, it ended in the middle of my calf's. Though I could technically fit a small, I was very short and had a figure. The small was too narrow for my hips and if I raised it to sit on my actual waist, the skirt sat above my knees. A definite no-no in Catholic school. So a medium with the freakishly long hem it was. I was about to pull on the white blouse when my bedroom door opened. I gasped and threw my arms over my chest.

"Don't come in, I'm naked!" I squealed.

"Oh, ya are not." Came a very familiar Irish accented voice.

I gasped and turned around. Jin was leaning up against the door jam. I felt a smile curl my lips. He was real! I hadn't dreamed the whole thing up. My gut released the tension I had been unconsciously carrying. He held one of my novels in one hand and a half eaten apple in the other. As I stared at him he lifted the apple to his mouth and took another bite out of it, chewing loudly. I grimaced at the sound. He put the book down on small table near my bed.

"Didn't your mother to chew with your mouth closed." I asked and crossed my arms.

Jin's eyes flicked down to my chest. I looked down and felt my cheeks go red. The bra had a little more push up then I was used to. When I crossed my arms it added even more giving the illusion of large breasts. I gasped and turned my back on Jin silently berating myself for forgetting I didn't have a shirt on.

"S-So, uh," I cleared my throat and hastily put my shirt on before I continued. "what are you doing here?"

I heard Jin take another bite of the apple. He chewed a bit more quietly this time, taking my complaint to heart. He swallowed before saying. "I came lookin' for ya luv."

With my shirt in place I turned around and faced the long eared wind master. His eyes were roaming about my bedroom, taking in everything.

"How did we get here?" I asked.

Jin ignored the question instead walking over to the shelf that was above my bed and pulled down a picture.

"Who's that?"

I took the picture from him and smiled. It showed myself and an overly freckled girl with a spiked pixy cut. I was giving the peace sign and the other had her blue eyes crossed and her tongue poking out to the side.

"That's Betsy, my best friend. She moved away to collage last year."

Jin took the picture back from me and studied Betsy for a moment before putting it back in its proper place.

"Ya both look happy." He observed. "Do ya miss her?"

I smiled. "Yup. We used to do everything together. She was the sister I never had."

Jin took another noisy bite of the apple while he moved over to my stuffed toy mountain and picked up a stuffed square. It was a companion cube plushy. I'll admit I had a secret obsession for portal. He turned it over in his hand studying it before putting it back down and picking up one of my favorite toys. It was an old, well loved, brown teddy bear with black button eyes and a stitched nose. Jin picked him up by the head and I rushed over to save the poor teddy.

"Careful with Mr. Bear, Jin! His neck is broken." I gasped out and supported Mr. Bear's body weight with my hands.

"Mr. Bear?" Jin asked, a humorous glint in his eye.

I nodded and cuddled the bear in my arms, rocking him gently. My hand snaked up under the large green and white polka-dot bow I had tied around his neck to check the stitches underneath. The stitches my daddy had repaired his neck with were still there, neat and even.

"How did he get injured?" Jin asked in sympathy.

I walked over and tucked the bear under my sheets so that his head rested on the pillow.

"I took him to show and tell when I was in the second grade. Mr. Bear was the only gift I'd ever gotten from my mom. Had him since I was born, you know, and I thought he would be special to share. Anyway, there was a big fifth grade kid called Marshal who loved to pick on me. He stole Mr. Bear and twisted his head almost all the way off and then threw him into a mud puddle."

Jin took another bite of the apple and leaned back against the stuffed animals, interested in the story. "What did ya do ta him?"

I looked away from Jin and petted Mr. Bear on the head. "Nothing."

Jin stopped chewing then swallowed. "What do ya mean nothin?"

I played with my hair as I felt my cheeks burn in shame.

"I cried. I was very small as a child and there wasn't much I could do. Marshal and some of his friends kept pushing me around to keep me away from my teddy. They laughed and laughed, making fun of me. Finally a recess teacher saw us and stopped the bigger boys. She separated us and I told her what had happened. The teacher scolded me for bringing a toy I cared so much for to school and told me that those boys had done what they did because I cried. She made me feel like the whole thing was my fault."

"Is that why ya feel shame when ya cry?" Jin asked.

I looked up at him confused.

Jin cocked his head to the side and gave me a thoughtful look. "Ya obviously love that toy an ya were pretty young when it happened. I hear a lot of emotion in yer voice when ya talk about it."

That was rather observant for the normally aloof wind master. He was so goofy and quick to laugh, it made you forget he was a shinobi. Observation was part of the territory for them, or at least I reasoned it to be. I didn't see how they could survive very long without being mindful their surroundings.

I met his blue gaze with my hazel. "That is the only thing my mother will ever give me. He is worth more to me than almost anything in the world. I was supposed to protect him, and I couldn't even do that right."

I lost my nerve and looked away from Jin. I hadn't meant to say that. It was a little too personal for polite conversation. That was a pain that I had only shared with my daddy, Betsy, and grandma. Now Jin knew. I wasn't sure I was happy with that.

Jin took another bite of his apple and turned to my computer. I think he knew I was uncomfortable with the current conversation.

"Is this one o' those computer thingies?" He asked and grasped the mouse.

The computer hummed to life and the black screen saver vanished to show a cute cartoon Chell cuddling Wheatley and sitting on top of the companion cube. I had created that wallpaper myself. I had given Wheatley a little more expression with his 'eye' so he looked like he was happy. Under the picture was a phrase that I had found on the internet and liked.

"Wheatley: The only core ta be bossed around by a mute." Jin read aloud. "Heh, cute."

I came over feeling pride over my drawing. Sure, the characters weren't mine but I still felt good.

"You like it?" I asked.

Jin shrugged. "I like the drawin. Wich one is the core?"

I pointed to Wheatley. "That's Wheatley, he's a computer core. That's the companion cube, and that is Chell."

Jin quirked an eyebrow. "What's a companion cube?"

I laughed at his total lack of Portal knowledge. I guess we all couldn't be perfect portal goons. "Its the Aperture Science weighted companion cube. He travels with you through some of the levels, and he will never stab you. These are all characters from a game I like to play. The character you play as is Chell here, and you have to defeat an evil super computer named GLaDOS that's trying to kill you. Its a type of puzzle game that makes you think."

Jin nodded. "Sounds like fun."

I pulled out the computer chair and offered him a seat. "Wanna play?"

Jin laughed but shook his head. "No luv. We really don have the time."

"Why? Do we have to go some place?" I asked.

Jin threw the apple core into a garbage can I had conveniently hidden under the desk. It was already almost full of crumpled up drawings that were on the backs of old printed out homework assignments. Ah, recycling at its best. I leaned down and fished out the apple core. That was my recycle bin.

"That's not for food." I grumbled while I was down there.

"Oh, isn't this pretty." Jin laughed and pulled out one of my gowns. "I never pictured ya as a dressy one."

"Stop that!" I grumbled and pulled dark blue satin gown out of his hands. I was in the process of hanging it back up with Jin fished something else out of my closet.

He whistled and held it up. "Oh, luv!" He was dangling a white corset from his index finger.

I blushed and grabbed it from him. "Would you get out of there? And that's not mine! Betsy stashed it over at my house because her mother would have killed her if she took it home."

"Don be bashful luv, its okay ta be a bit wild." Jin teased. "Besides, we can always get ya one of yer own."

My face grew redder and I slammed my closet door shut. I leaned back against it in time to watch Jin start going through my book shelf.

"What do we have here? Oh, the rich man's daughter. The last boyfriend. Montana sky. Ya sure do got a lot a romance novels in here." Jin observed with a wicked smile.

That did it. "Get out! Get out of my room. OUT! OUT! OUT!"

I put my hands in the middle of Jin's back and pushed him out. I knew he let me do it. If he had wanted to, I don't think I could have moved him. With a final shove I got him out and shut my door behind me. I leaned back against the door only to fall on my butt. I gasped and looked behind me. The door was gone. We were sitting in a vast empty space. White in all directions as far as the eye could see.

"Jin..." My voice wavered.

Jin lowered a hand and helped me to my feet.

"Its alright luv. Its just your mind."

"My mind?" I asked.

Jin nodded. "Aye luv. You're still unconscious."

I put a hand to my forehead. "Wait. What? If I'm unconscious does that mean...are you?"

"Oh I'm real, to be sure. Now don panic luv, but you've been out for a long time."

I gasped. Jin patted me on the head with a large hand.

"This is natural. You're in a type o' hibernation." Jin said.

This was a little awkward. I was sleeping? But how could I be sleeping if I was awake?I mean, I was having a sort of intelligent conversation with Jin. I wasn't sure what to say, so I posed my face into something that was a mix between disbelief and a question.

Jin laughed at me. "Don look at me like that luv. Now, Kurama was talkin bout somethin I wasn't rightly payin attention to, but it boils down ta this. Yer part human. When we shared the mark I woke up yer demon blood. Ya took a demon form, but yer body ain't tough enough ta handle it. When ya tried ta summon the wind ya did it wrong an tapped into yer life force. It didn-a kill ya, but it didn-a do ya any good either. When ya hit the twelve hour mark in hibernation, Kurama feared that ya may have hurt yerself worse then we realized. I decided ta pop in an see if ya were alright."

I shook my head. This was getting a little strange. "Okay...How did you get here?"

Jin smiled. "Its one o' the perks. I got a part o' yer soul, you got a piece o' mine. I guess ya could say I can come and visit ya in yer head whenever I want. Were like two peas in a pod, we are, luv."

"Wow." I said.

"So. Lets get goin, luv." Jin said.

"Go where?" I asked.

Jin shook his head. "Wake up, lass. Touya's gotta show ya how ta not kill yerself when ya use yer chi."

"How do I do that?" I asked.

Jin quirked an eyebrow. "Ya don know how ta wake up?"

I shook my head.

Jin put his head in his hand. "Oi!"

Oi was right.

…

Thanks for reading. See you all soon

PS. I do not own YYH or Portal. Please support the official release of both of the nice products.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Let the bodies hit the floor

There is only one way I can describe what happened about an hour later. Lame. One moment Jin and I are having a great time singing that beer song, you know, the ones with the bottles of beer on the wall and taking them down. The next I'm lying flat on my back starring up at the roof. If this was me waking up, this was the lamest way of doing it ever. Swear to god.

I seemed to be lying in bed, only this bed was in Makai. There was no smell of soap here, only a faint tang of something metallic that almost reminded me of blood. I groaned and sat up. Dear god let this be real. I don't think I could handle another episode of Jin pawing through my stuff.

"..Twelve bottles of beer on the wall..."

Speak of the devil. I looked down. Jin was sitting on a stool with his head resting on the side of the bed, arms folded beneath it. As I watched he stirred slightly and his blue eyes fluttered open. Within moments he sat up and stretched.

"'Bout time." He said around a yawn.

I folded my arms across my chest. "Oh, shut up." I said playfully.

Jin smiled a goofy smile. "Scoot over."

I cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

Jin gave me a push and slid into the bed when I moved.

"Scoot over. I want in too."

I felt a blush rise to my cheeks as he got into the bed and fixed the blanket so it covered us both. An arm snaked around my shoulders and pulled me in. I felt my heart begin to pound. Jin gave me a squeeze and snuggled himself down. In a few moments I found my head pressed against his chest and his chin resting on top of my head.

"This is nice." Jin sighed against my hair.

I swallowed and closed my eyes. Okay, call me stupid. I know he and I had cuddled close when we were traveling here, but something about this was different. We were (dare I say it) a couple. Something about the hold of his arm and the curve of his lips against my hair was not like before. There was a gentleness that hadn't been there. It made me nervous.

BOOM!

…

I couldn't hear anything and I couldn't see anything! Which way was up and which was down. Oh god! What the hell happened? Where am I? I struggled and found myself tangled up in the blanket from the bed. A little of the panic left me as I realized the reason I couldn't see was because the blanket was over my head. Something hard was at my back I pushed against it and realized it was the wall. The frame of the bed was pinning my legs. I started struggling harder and the bed gave. I crawled my way out of the tangled mess and felt my mouth fall open.

My room was gone. It had literally exploded. What the hell was going on? I got to my feet and looked around. The blast had come from the direction of my mother's garden and the force had thrown the bed against the opposite wall. Jin, where was JIN!

"JIN!" I called.

I could feel the muscles in my throat working around the word, but I heard nothing. My hands flew to my ears and came away smeared with blood. I screamed in horror. I was deaf! Something grabbed me from behind. My body moved the way Touya taught me. Within seconds I had my attacker on his stomach with his arm held in a lock. Wild green eyes stared up at me and a forked tongue slithered out from between foaming lips. I didn't know him. With a practiced twist I disabled him by breaking his three joints, wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

I was on the ground again, something attacking me. I caught a jumbled image of pink hair and a muscled forearm as I shoved out with a palm strike. My attacker moved back with the blow, saving himself. I was trying to break his ribs. I lumbered to my feet and was about to attack again when something shot over my left shoulder. I caught a bluish blur that slammed itself into my opponent's chest and jerked back out, killing him instantly. I could see my foe clearly now that he was dead. It was some sort of animal that had taken human shape. I couldn't tell what kind of animal, and frankly, I didn't care. I had been right about the pink hair though, it was covered in it. The body fell to the ground with a hole the size of dinner plate where its heart used to be. I spun on my heel and looked behind me. A large periwinkle bird-thing was looking down at me, blood spattered across its beak.

I took a step back. That thing was huge. The size of a monster truck at least. It cocked its head at me and looked down with chocolate brown eyes. It warbled, I knew this because I could feel the vibration of its voice in my bones. With its spiky black main and puppy-ish long ears, it was almost cute. I took another step back from it. The blood spattered beak belied the cuteness, that thing was dangerous and I didn't know if it was on my side or not. The head reared back and I bolted.

A huge gust of air and the world going dark around me let me know it could fly. Shit! Shit! Shit! NOT FAIR! That thing was bigger than an ostrich, bigger than any bird I had ever seen before in my life. How in the hell could it fly! What ever happened to the laws of physics? I needed to hide, but where! I caught sight of the maple tree. That bird was too big to land in it, I could take shelter under its branches.

I ran as fast as my legs would take me. Almost there! Almost there! I screamed as two giant taloned feet locked around my arms and lifted me off the ground. I twisted and bucked but it was no use. I suddenly knew how a mouse felt when it was picked up by the hawk. There was no escape. In the distance another bomb went off. I twisted my head around and watched as a great pillar of white light went up into the sky. I cried out as the bird angled its wings and headed off in that direction. Wind flew past my face, making it hard to breathe and drying the blood to my skin.

We started to descend over a forest of trees. Our glide was low enough that maybe the drop wouldn't kill me. I didn't want to go wherever this bird was taking me. There was only one thing to do. I leaned over and bit the foot that held me. I tasted blood in my mouth and the foot that held me let go. With an arm free I attacked the other appendage. I was falling. I reached out blindly and jerked to a stop when I caught a branch in my hand. The jerk was too much for the limb and it snapped. I fell a few more feet before latching onto another branch. I bit my lip on the impact and a fresh taste of blood mixed with the bird's. I slid and found myself falling again. I continued my downward trip until I spilled onto the forest floor. I didn't stay there. I crawled into the protection of the tree roots and started looking for a way to escape.

I felt the impact of the bird landing. It was enough to jar the ground. Yellow feet rushed around my hiding place, trying to find me. I pressed myself against the trunk of the tree as a yellow beak reached through the roots and tried to get me. I leaned my head back as it snapped in my face. Fear ate at my insides and I felt my left hand grow warm. I suddenly remembered that I could shoot with my palm. I closed my eyes and reached into that place inside myself. I could feel something move in my body.

I screamed as I was pulled from the tree roots. I was being hauled up by my hand. My startled brown eyes stared into a pair of gold. I made out silver hair and a wide mouth with thin lips before I kicked my leg out at my new opponent. I was trying to bury my knee into his groin. The attack was blocked and I found myself suddenly pinned by the tree that I had been taking shelter in.

"GET OFF ME!" I screamed, throat straining in my fear.

The man's mouth was moving, but I couldn't hear. Long claw tipped fingers trapped my face between them and the face leaned down. I watched as those lips formed my name.

"GET AWAY!" I screeched arched back into the tree.

His fingers pushed back my hair and I watched as his golden eyes followed the blood trail up to my lips then ears. His eyes narrowed and he turned my head. I fought against the hand and barred my teeth in a bloody grimace. He was too powerful and I found my head forced to the side. I closed my eyes as he pulled on my ear and I hissed in pain. Something moved inside that probably should not have. I shuttered as I felt a new bit of blood worked its way out. The creature turned my head back towards him and forced me to look in his face.

I watched as his lips formed the word friend. He touched his chest and then touched mine.

"You're my friend?" I asked.

He nodded. Suddenly the tree that was holding me let go. He reached down and took my hand. Did I trust this creature? Did I have a choice? His grip was like iron and I couldn't have escaped if I wanted to.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The creature turned to me and pressed a long tapered finger to his lips, shushing me. He knelt, bringing that long body down to my height. I watched as he traced letters on my open palm. Y-O-K-O. I nodded. A large shadow fell over me, I looked up and saw the giant bird again. Being deaf had prevented me from detecting its approach from behind. I gasped and staggered away from the thing. The creature called Yoko wrapped an arm around me and gave a reassuring squeeze.

"You have got to be kidding me." I whispered. Or at least I hoped I did, I couldn't tell anymore.

Yoko took my hand and traced a new set of letters. P-O-O. He then pointed to the bird, leaving no room for misinterpretation. That thing was Poo? Like Winnie the Poo, or...never mind. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and go with the cuddly bear aspect.

I felt a pang in my body and suddenly I needed to find Jin. Something wasn't right. I just knew it.

"Where's Jin." I asked.

The creature named Yoko lifted an elegant finger and pointed towards the sky. Yea, that was helpful. He was either telling me to hang on a moment, or Jin was up there. Since I knew Jin was not playing hide and seek in the foliage above, I had to assume he was asking me to wait. I felt another pang, this one was stronger then before. Okay, I couldn't wait. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

I...I had to go. I couldn't wait. My breathing grew ragged and I clutched my chest. I felt something waver inside me. I suddenly knew how to find Jin. That little spark of red, that thing he put inside me when he bit me. I could use it to find him. That little spot was screaming inside me, telling me to move. Something bad was going to happen. I turned on my heel and ran. I ran like the devil himself was running behind me.

Silver flashed at my side and I knew that Yoko guy was with me. Ahead of us something stepped out of the foliage. It was a group of demons. They carried some wicked looking weapons. Clubs, swords, tridents. Things you would expect to see in a gladiator movie. I think one of them even carried a net. I didn't slow my pace.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" I shouted.

Instead of heeding my cry, they readied their weapons. I charged up my hand. I was getting through that line, and heaven help those who got in my way. I fired when I could see the whites of their eyes. I swung my arm as I fired creating wide spread attack. My power flew from my hand in a curve that took out one side of the line. The weakest ones died instantly, the stronger were merely stunned. I raced through the gap leaving Yoko to handle those who survived.

I continued my break neck pace as the trees thinned out and gave way to hard baked earth. It was like moving from a forest to a desert. I was almost there. I could feel it. I angled my run, instinctively knowing which way to go. The wavering became more desperate. I dug my heels in and ran harder. There! I could see it. Jin was on the ground. He wasn't even fighting anymore, being too desperate to avoid the attacks. Kodachi was fighting with twin swords, one for each hand. Jin lost his footing and fell to the dirt. As I watched she twirled and raised the blades. Kodachi was going for a downward strike. If she hit, I knew Jin was done for.

I screamed and launched myself at her. My cry startled her and she had just enough time to look in my direction before I plowed into her like a linebacker. I took her to the ground and kept on going. I ignored the pain of her sword hilt making contact with my back. Instead I used the pain and adrenalin to force her head into the dirt as we slid. Blood spurted from one of her ears as a hooped earring got caught in the dirt. As our slide came to a stop I lifted a fist and slammed it into that perfect nose. It broke under my fist with a candy-bar like crunch. Her eyes flew shut and teared up in an automatic response to the break. Taking advantage of her weakness I latched onto one of her swords and pried it from her hand.

Kodachi struck out and punched me in the face, flinging me off her body. I rolled and somehow managed to not impale myself on the sword. I got to my feet as fast as I could and watched as Kodachi picked herself up and pinched her nose. I could tell when she reset it, as the blood stopped flowing as hard. I narrowed my eyes and flipped the sword in a complex pattern. I didn't know how to use a sword, hell I'd never even held one before.

I let a wicked grin spread itself on my face. I didn't know, but Jin did. I laughed as years of sword experience suddenly became available to me. Just like I knew how to summon the wind from the mark we shared, I also realized that I could tap into Jin's sword experience. He had been trained in all kinds of weapons, hell he had over two centuries worth experience. He just never used it because he preferred his fists.

Kodachi started speaking at me. I rolled my eyes and attacked. Hell I couldn't hear her anyway, so why let her sit there and flap her lips. I swung out with my sword and completely missed her. Kodachi raised an eyebrow as my sword harmlessly sailed past her nose. I gritted my teeth and ducked under her attack. Crap! I may have had Jin's experience, but I didn't have his reach. His fighting style was made for somebody who was seven inches taller! I hadn't thought about compensating for that. I had to get closer to her. I raised my blade in time to block a downward strike. My whole arm vibrated with the impact. Metal screeched against metal as our swords came apart. I ducked under another strike and swiped out. I felt the sword bite into cloth, but not the skin. Damn, still to far away!

I was unbalanced and not prepared for Kodachi as she launched herself forward and sliced my arm open. I screamed at the pain and almost lost my own weapon. I staggered back and brought my sword up to block her next attack. The blood flowing down my arm made my grip slip.

I watched her lips as they formed words. If she could speak that meant she wasn't paying as close attention as she probably should. Speaking lowered your own awareness as your brain had to function on both the fight and your dialog. Speaking was, sometimes, worth the risk because it could shock your opponent into a mistake. Her words, however, fell on well...deaf ears, and her vocal ploy failed. She flicked her eyes off of me to somewhere over my shoulder. She had intended me to follow her gaze to whatever she was looking at. I didn't. Instead I struck out with a fist and hit her in the nose again. I felt the bones shatter under my fist with a crunch. The pain would be so much worse this time, since it had been broken once before.

"Your nose will never set right again, bitch!" I screamed as I sliced down with my sword. The blade was sharp, leaving a diagonal line of crimson across her face. I shouted because I wanted her mad. Mad and sloppy. Like she had tried to get me to be. "Don't worry, I'm sure I can carve off some of that chin so nobody will notice that its cockeyed!"

I didn't need to hear to understand the sling of unladylike curses that she spat in my direction. My jibe had worked. She got loose and sloppy. Her moves became so much easier to predict. She lifted her sword above her head and I spotted my chance. I ducked and shot up with a swinging arch. My sword met with her wrist. There was a little resistance as the blade made contact with bone, but the wrist was a joint and mostly cartilage. The blade severed her hand and it went flying away with the sword still gripped in its fingers.

She was screaming and holding her bloody stub. I lunged forward and stabbed my blade into her gut. There was more resistance then with her wrist. She was wearing body armor. I put more force behind the blade and it sank home. Blood welded out of the wound, thick, rich, and black as night. I wanted her dead. I twisted the blade in the wound, scrambling up her intestines before pulling the blade back out. As the blade slid free blood and thicker things came out with it. Kodachi fell to her hand and knees She glared up at me with those honeyed eyes. Those purple lips were hidden under a mask of rich, red blood. She wasn't dead yet. It would take at least four hours for her to die with that wound. If a healer found her, she could get up again. I looked down at those eyes and wondered if I could really kill her. It only took me a few moments to make up my mind.

If it meant that she would never hurt Jin or myself again. You friggin' bet I could kill her. It would haunt me, but to know that we would be safe from her...I could deal with a few nightmares. Two steps brought me to her side. I kicked her good arm out from under her and hauled her up by her hair. The new angle held her neck taught and put it at a good angle for me. Kodachi's free hand went back to her hair and grabbed some of it, trying to support her neck. My hand shook as I brought the blade to her throat and pressed slightly. As a woman I knew that I didn't have enough upper body strength to decapitate her. But I could slit her throat. If I did it right she would be dead in twenty seconds from blood loos. The two largest veins were on the side of the voice box. I took a shuttering breath and angled the sword.

I looked up when somebody grabbed my wrist. Jin's eyes were wide and he was speaking to me. His mouth was moving so fast I hadn't the faintest clue to what he was talking about. I shook my head but eased the sword back enough that it wasn't biting her flesh. I felt Kodachi tense under me.

"IF YOU SO MUCH AS TAKE ONE MORE BREATH KODACHI, I DON'T CARE WHAT JIN SAYS! I WILL GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!" I roared.

I felt the tension flow out of Kodachi. She believed my threat. The scary thing was that I believed it too. For this thirty seconds in time I was willing to butcher another living creature. Hell, if it would scare any potential threat away from my family I would be willing to carve her into tiny pieces in front of a live audience.

What kind of a monster was I turning into?

...

End chapter 16

Sorry this took me so long to get out, I was really struggling into which direction I should take this story. Finally, after days of contemplation, I got this. See you all soon.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Silence is golden, but duct-tape is silver

My breathing was ragged as I looked up at Jin. He was holding his hands up, palms facing me like I had a gun. He was doing that don't-shoot-I'm-harmless pose. He was still talking to me. He edged a little closer.

"I can't hear you Jin." I said and tensed my fingers in Kodachi's hair. She was getting heavy. I was literally holding her entire body weight up with one hand. For now I could do it, but if Jin kept stalling me I was either going to have to put her down or kill her. Strike that, I was just gonna kill her.

Jin put his hands on mine and looked me in the eye. He shook his head. Jin's eyes darted down to Kodachi then up at me. His lips moved very slowly and clearly. "We. Need. Her. Alive."

Apparently Kodachi heard what Jin said, as her limp body grew a little tense. I pressed the blade just enough to draw blood. The motion quieted her down again.

I barred my teeth. Needed her alive, my ass. What possible...

I took a calming breath and forced my adrenaline soaked mind to think. Breathe in, hold, out. In, hold, out. As I forced myself to calm I began to see Jin's point. Kodachi did have some worth with her throat still intact. If nothing else, she would serve as a lovely example to Tempest.

"Don't get excited Kodachi. You are going to die, make no mistake about that. However, I will allow you to choose how you go. If you behave and do as Jin tells you, you will be killed quickly and with as little pain as possible. If you do anything to make me doubt you. If you so much as **look** at me wrong. I will hang you up by your toes and slice you apart one piece at a time. And I promise you, Kodachi, your death will be **slow** and it will be **horrible**." I meant the words that came out of my mouth.

Jin squeezed my hands and I looked up at him. He wasn't alone. That Yoko guy was back. He met my eyes and smiled approvingly . It was nice to know that somebody agreed with me. Jin pressed his body to mine and slipped both of his hands over mine. I looked into his eyes and saw that he wanted me to let her go. Part of me wanted to, the other newly discovered psychopath part wasn't so sure.

"Let. Go." Jin's words were crisp and clear, easy to read.

My hands twitched under his and the blood flowed a little faster from Kodachi's neck. But, in the end, Jin's request won out. With a shuddering breath, I released my grip and stepped back as Jin took my place. He held Kodachi for a second before giving her a rough kick forward. I watched as something green shot out from Yoko's hand and wound around Kodachi like snakes. She ended up bound from head to toe complete with gag, blindfold, and (weirdly enough) earplugs.

I looked away from her and felt my whole body begin to shake as the realization of what I had done sank home. I could have...NO! I was GOING TO! I was going to ki...kill her. I collapsed to my knees, gasping great gulps of air. I crossed my arms over my stomach and started to rock slowly back and forth. I was a monster. Despite the hot air that surrounded me, I felt cold. I was a god-damned psychopath. The thing that was scaring me the most was that, in my heart of hearts, I knew that if Jin hadn't stopped me, I would have killed her and felt nothing.

I felt a scream building in the back of my throat. I was grieving because I could have killed and felt nothing! Life should have meant something! It was precious! How could I snuff out the most precious of all things and feel NOTHING! I felt the beginning of the scream bubble out from my lips. But I threw my hands over my mouth and curled into myself. If I started screaming, I wouldn't stop. I would scream, and scream, and scream until my throat stopped working.

Two strong arms wrapped themselves around me. Rough lips kissed my forehead, my cheeks, my lips. I latched onto Jin and buried my eyes in the curve of his neck. I could feel his throat vibrating as he spoke. His lips moved against my hair. Deep in my chest I could feel that bit of red pulsing, sending waves of strength through me. _You're okay_ it seemed to say. _I love you, I'm here..._

Jin leaned me back from him and locked his blue eyes onto mine. Something wavered in his eyes that looked suspiciously like tears. He grimaced and tilted my head to the side. Strong calloused fingers moved my hair out of the way and traced the blood that ran from my ears. They trailed down my jaw, my neck, to my now ruined shirt. They explored the smooth stones of the fake pearl necklaces I wore. Things had been so crazy that I forgot to take it off. His hands moved up to my jaw and turned my face back toward him. His thumbs reached up and gently traced my lower lip. I jerked back at the pain. It suddenly struck me that I had one hell of a fat lip. I must look like hell.

I suddenly felt self conscious with how intently he was looking at me. I ran a hand through my hair, but my fingers didn't end by my shoulders where I expected them to. I removed my fingers early and pulled my extremely long locks over my shoulder. I'd never had hair so long before, the tangled mess was at least to my ankles. I gladly let this new distraction pull me away from him, mentally at least.

Jin didn't let me go though. Instead he brought me back to him by turning my face towards him and laying a feather soft kiss to my lips. I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him in tighter, heedless of my complaining swollen lip. His arms convulsed on my back, crushing me to him. Somewhere in the back of my mind I realized that this was our first kiss. Sharp teeth nibbled my soar lip, making me gasp slightly. Jin took my parted lips as an invitation and slipped a warm, wet tongue into my mouth.

I jerked back from the taste, ending our kiss. I knew that taste. I had experienced it enough when those lizard men...

I scrambled back from him, fear eating at my belly. I was on my back arms held up in a defensive block before I registered what happened. I looked up into Jin's hurt eyes. I licked my lips as I realized what I had done. I had rejected him. Even worse, I had feared him. Jin started to pull away and I realized I only had one chance to make this bad experience go away. If I did nothing, this one bit of resistance would haunt us for the rest of our lives. We would be close, but we would be awkward with each other. This was something that could drive us apart.

He was almost to his feet when I reached out and grabbed his hands, pulling him back down. He let me do it, watching me with wary eyes. It hurt my heart to see him look at me that way. It took everything I had left to crawl back into his lap. My heart was pounding and I felt light headed as I pressed our lips back together. Jin didn't help me, but he didn't stop me either. I brought my hands up and placed them on either side of his face to steady myself. With a shaky breath I deepened the kiss. He responded to my touch, but he was more gentle with me then I had ever felt him be before. His hands ghosted my shoulders, almost as if he was afraid I would break if he touched me too hard. I pulled back from the kiss, too chicken to try the whole tongue thing.

I opened my eyes and looked up into Jin's heated blue ones. "I love you." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. But, now that they were said, I didn't want to take them back. I said them again. "I love you Jin." I let the feeling fill my eyes as I looked at him. I did, I really did love him.

His arms crushed me to him one more time. Something wet fell on my hand. I looked up and saw a tear trail its way down his cheek. He caught me looking and wiped it away. A goofy smile broke across his face before he closed his eyes and his shoulders started to shake. It took me a second to realize that he was laughing. He laughed for about a minuet before he looked back over his shoulder and shouted something behind him.

I followed his gaze and watched as Yoko picked up the hog-tied Kodachi and flung her over his shoulder. With a flick of a silver tail (I don't know how I missed it before) he was gone. I gasped as an arm tucked under my knees and while another hugged my shoulder. I had enough time to look up as Jin got to his feet then took off with me in his arms. The earth shrank below us and I burred my eyes into his neck.

I wanted to ask where we were going, but it wouldn't have done me any good. Besides, we would be there soon anyway.

…

I ended up in the skillful hands of Tsubaki again. As it turned out, I wasn't her only patient. Demons lay broken and bleeding in her medical tent. There was even one of Hoko...Hoku...Mr. H's men here. He was being bandaged up by a girl that I had never seen before. It looked like he had a really nasty gut wound. I watched as Tsubaki finished with somebody else before she made her way over to me. A younger girl of, I would say no more then seven, followed behind the old woman. The child held out a bowl full of clean water that Tsubaki washed her hands in before she made her way over to me.

Her lips were moving too fast for me to read. I sighed and watched as Jin replied, just as rapidly. Hand motions punctuating his sentences. Now that I couldn't hear, it made me realize just how much Jin talked with his hands. I let a small smile cross my face as Jin closed his hands and then threw them wide, wiggled his fingers. He must have been talking about the explosion. Tsubaki looked back at me and gestured for me to take a seat. I walked over to an empty stool and sat down. I looked up as Jin leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll. Be. Back." He said clearly to me.

I was about to tell him okay when Tsubaki reached up and grabbed him by a long ear. My hands flew to my mouth as I watched her pull Jin by the ear and sit him down on another stool. I couldn't help but laugh as Tsubaki took a flashlight from the young girl and started checking Jin's eyes out. After a few moments of inspection (it was really more like fighting) Tsubaki must have given him the all clear. Jin was up and out of the tent like a shot, it was almost as if he couldn't get away fast enough. Tsubaki rolled her eyes and washed her hands again.

My subsiding giggles turned into full fledged laughter as Jin pocked his head back in and, noticing Tsubaki had her back to us, gave me a quick hug before escaping the tent again. Tsubaki smiled at me and took a wet cloth from the child. She walked over and gently started to clean the blood from my skin. I closed my eyes and relaxed into her touch. I yelped when Tsubaki nabbed my chin and poked something into my ear. Her grip on my chin held my head still so I couldn't get away. After a few painful moments, she took the thing out of my ear. Her iron grip turned my head the other way and she again did the same to the other. I gritted my teeth and ignored the new throbbing that her device had caused. After what seemed like a long time, she let me go.

I brought my hands up to my ears and gently touched them as Tsubaki turned away and started scribbling on a piece of paper. After a moment she handed me the paper and let me read it. My eyes scanned the note and envied her neat scrawl. I felt my eyebrows knit in worry when I read that my ear drums had exploded. Though she could heal me, I was going to be deaf for at least another week. I sighed in relief. Thank god it wasn't permanent.

I looked up when I finished the paper. Tsubaki grabbed my chin and I flinched, expecting the horrid feeling of another instrument. Instead I felt something warm and I got a really bad itch deep in my ear. I shuttered as the itch slowly receded, leaving a ringing sound in its wake. Gauze was shoved in and she bandaged it in place. The process was repeated on the other side.

"Thank you." I said as I got to my feet.

I was just about to leave when her hand grabbed my wrist. She shot me a look the clearly said where-are-you-going.

"I'm going out?" My sentence came out as a question.

Tsubaki shook her head no and pointed to an empty cot.

"But I'm not hurt." I persisted.

The scowl she gave me had my proverbial tail tucked between my legs as I obediently walked over to the cot and sat down. That woman was scary when she wanted to be. With a glare she pointed at me and made a gesture for sleeping. I quirked an eyebrow. I was supposed to sleep at a time like this? She glared at me until I lost my nerve and lay down on the cot. With a nod of approval she turned and walked off to take care of somebody else.

…

End chapter 17

Thanks to everybody who reviewed. See ya'll soon. XD

Ps. I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho...I haven't said that in a while.


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